The Audacity of Tradition
by Wisteria Urs
Summary: The legacy of Hogwarts school carries on through a new generation, as told through the eyes of Scorpius Malfoy.
1. Chapter 1

Scorpius Malfoy grew up in the house of his ancestors. It was a grand old place, built of marble and granite. It was usually quiet, except for the whispers of the portraits that lined the walls, or the mutters of the house elves that served Scorpius's family. Sometimes, when Scorpius's mother laughed, the sound would bounce down the hallways and leak under the doors to the rest of the rooms in the house. Scorpius loved when this happened.

More than anything, Scorpius loved his parents. He supposed that he got angry with them sometimes, as all children do, but he was thankful for his parents all the same. He knew the story of his parent's lives better than almost anyone, since he had heard the story emerge from his mother's mouth more than a dozen times. His mother and father had grown up together as best friends. When they were teenagers, they fell in love at Hogwarts. After Voldemort was defeated, they didn't go back to school. Instead, his parents had gotten married and went to work at the Ministry of Magic. After a while, his mother had given birth to him. Whenever she told this story, Scorpius's father would close his arms around her shoulders and kiss her.

Scorpius thought that sometimes, his parents still acted like teenagers. They both looked too young to be parents. They laughed more than any adults he had ever seen, and they loved each other more than any other couple Scorpius had ever encountered. They always hugged, kissed, or held hands, even when Scorpius was there. Sometimes, this made Scorpius feel lonely. He had no siblings to play with. His grandfather had died years ago, and his grandmother now resided in St. Mungos. There were no other children like him in his family's village.

There was no one quite like Scorpius, because Scorpius was a wizard. His parents were wizards, extremely powerful ones too. Once, his father told Scorpius that he had been considered a dark wizard, and that Scorpius's mother had been too. But then, he had told Scorpius not to worry, that Scorpius would never be seen that way, though, if anyone ever said anything, to ignore them.

From a young age, Scorpius had shown signs of becoming a strong wizard like his parents before him. His mother had showed such pride that day in London, when Scorpius had accidentally turned his milk to water. At first, she had been angry Scorpius had refused to drink his glass of milk, but when he had turned it to water, he had been forgiven. That wasn't all he could do. Scorpius could control his magic, something nearly unheard of in young wizards, and his parents discouraged this. But secretly, Scorpius liked to do magic on his own. He had once been able to levitate, nearly forty feet in the air. He had turned himself invisible during a game of hide-and-seek with his father. Scorpius also had the ability to lie to people. It might not have seemed like a great skill, indeed, it seemed pitiable. But Scorpius knew full well that in his world, the wizarding world, people could read your thoughts. In fact, his father was masterful at doing so. But Scorpius had been able to block him out a few times, like when he had smashed a vase, a wedding gift to his parents and he had blamed it on one of the houselves.

Scorpius couldn't wait to push his boundaries further. He longed for the day he would receive his Hogwarts letter. It would come soon, he was sure. He had just turned eleven in May, and his mother told him that come late July, Scorpius would have his Hogwarts letter.

It happened on July twenty-third. Scorpius was sitting out in the gardens outside Malfoy Manor. His mother was inside the house, writing a letter to a good friend of hers, and his father was swimming laps in their long pool. Scorpius reached up into the air and managed to grab a butterfly as it fluttered from a flower. Slowly, Scorpius closed his hand ever so slightly. The yellow in the butterfly's wing changed from a sunny yellow to a dark red. Scorpius lifted his hand to the sun, and the butterfly took flight, hiding in the hedges. At that moment, a bird swooped down from the sky. At first, Scorpius mistook it for an eagle, and picked up a rock from the ground, prepared to chuck it at the bird. His mother hated the eagles, because they always tried to attack her cat. But then, Scorpius noticed the tawny wings, and the soft hoot that sounded from the back of the bird's throat. It soared over his head, towards the house.

Scorpius began to run. He jumped over his mother's cat; a barmy old thing named Tonks, and barged into his house. He darted by the spiral staircase and pushed open the heavy doors to the dining room. His mother was sitting at the table, her blonde hair falling over her shoulder as she flourished her quill.

"What is it, love?" She asked Scorpius, looking alarmed at his loss of breath. Scorpius rubbed the stitch in his chest.

"It's here," he wheezed. "Open the window, mum. The owl's here."

His mother widened her blue eyes, but pushed back her seat and cracked open one of the extremely tall, wide windows. Sure enough, the owl swooped down on the windowsill and stuck out its leg. Scorpius hurried forward and his mother carefully untied the letter from the owl's leg. She handed it to Scorpius and stroked the owl's head. It let out a soft, doleful hoot, and then took flight.

Scorpius turned over the heavy envelope with shaking hands. On the back, there was a crest with a badger, a snake, an eagle, and a lion. Under the crest were the words _Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titllandus. _

"Go on, sweetheart," his mother encouraged him. She squeezed Scorpius's shoulder. "Open it." He looked up at his mother, who beamed down at him.

Scorpius pulled open the envelope and unfolded the letter within. It was written in a neat script, on heavy parchment his parents sometimes used. It was written in green ink.

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

**Headmaster: Minerva McGonagall**

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Please find enclosed list of necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl no later than July 31.

Sincerely,

Neville Longbottom

Deputy Headmaster

Scorpius felt his stomach bubble with excitement as his mother planted a kiss on the hairline of his white-blonde head.

"Look at that," she whispered in his ear. "You're off to Hogwarts."

"Finally," Scorpius whispered back.

***Quick note, everyone. As you may have guessed, in this story, Celia is Scorpius's mother. I like to re-use my characters and cross them in my other stories. However, her background involving Harry, for the purpose of this story, is non-existent. **

**Please rate, share, and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

As Scorpius got ready for bed that night, he could hardly contain his excitement. He threw on his pajamas, jumped into his bed, but didn't fall asleep. He couldn't fall asleep, because he was too busy imagining what Hogwarts would be like. Scorpius dragged a finger through the air, imagining what it would be like to finally hold his own wand, what it would be like to brew potions and learn spells and meet people his own age, people like him. He shook with the prospect of the new beginning. However, one thought brought down his spirit a little.

He knew full well that his entire family was in Slytherin; his father, his mother, his grandparents on both sides. Scorpius wondered if he too would be sorted into Slytherin. He strained to remember what his grandfather had told him Slytherins had stood for. _Ambition, Shrewd, and Cunning. _Scorpius didn't think of himself as any of these things, except ambitious. He knew he wanted to learn, that was for sure. And he was clever, he knew that too. But when Scorpius thought about it, he didn't think he was shrewd or cunning. Maybe he was, deep down, but Scorpius had never run into a situation that required him to be any of those things.

As if on cue, Scorpius's father knocked on his bedroom door. Scorpius settled down in his bed and pretended to be asleep as the door cracked open. Light spilled into his room, and Scorpius's father peered around the door. Scorpius heaved his shoulders up and down, trying to make it appear as if he was deeply asleep.

"Scorpius," Draco said in a commanding tone. "Stop faking sleep."

Scorpius frowned and sat up. "How did you know?"

Draco shrugged and sat on the side of Scorpius's mattress. "I had a lot of practice with that myself." Draco smoothed the bed cover. "Are you excited for school?"

Scorpius imitated his father's shrug. "Yeah. I guess."

"You guess?" Draco asked, looking intently into his son's clever grey eyes. "I know you better then that. You've been asking about Hogwarts since you could talk." Scorpius looked at his hands. Draco sighed.

"I just…" Scorpius fell silent. He looked up at his father. His father had a pointed, sneering face, but there were laugh lines around his mouth and eyes. In Scorpius's mind, he recalled some of the names he had heard Slytherins be described as. _Evil. Power-hungry. Un-humane. _When he looked at his father, Scorpius didn't see any of these traits. "Dad, did you like being in Slytherin?"

His father frowned slightly, and then ran a hand through his hair. "Did I like it? Usually. I made friends in that house, and I was proud to carry on the family tradition. Whatever people say, Scorpius, there are good people in that house. I like to think that your mother and I are good people. We were both in Slytherin."

"I know," Scorpius replied. His stomach squirmed. He couldn't bear to think what would happen if he wasn't placed in Slytherin. He would be the first Malfoy in years, maybe even a century, to break the tradition. "I'm afraid to think I won't be in Slytherin." He lowered his voice. "What if I get put in Gryffindor?"

He recalled what he had heard about Gryffindor. His grandfather had made a nasty face when he heard the name, but at his grandmother's urging, he repeated what the sorting hat said about it. _Courageous. Good hearted. _Scorpius couldn't see himself being courageous either, but he knew, deep down, that he wouldn't be placed in Ravenclaw, no Malfoy had ever been placed in that house. He hoped he wouldn't be put in Hufflepuff. His father had once joked that Hufflepuff took the leftovers, and while his mother had scorned Draco's words, they had stuck with Scorpius.

"Well," Draco said slowly. "I can't say I know too much about them. When I was at school, they had an excellent Quidditch Team. And they were clever, no doubt." Draco grimaced. "I'm sorry to say that when I was at school, I didn't get along with Gryffindors. I hated them. But things changed, Scorpius, as all things do. Slytherins have changed, as have Gryffindors." Draco leaned in and patted his son's shoulder. "Whatever house you're in, you are going to become a fine wizard."

"Thanks, Dad." Scorpius allowed his father to kiss his forehead, and then lay down in bed. Draco shut the door quietly behind him and trekked down the hallway. His wife was waiting for him, sitting up in bed. She had just put on her lotion, which smelled like gardenias and made her tan skin shine.

"So?" Celia asked as Draco closed their bedroom door. He padded across the floor and slipped into bed next to his wife.

"Scorpius is nervous about the sorting," he told her. "He asked me about Gryffindor."

Celia raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's where I was supposed to be placed."

"But you ended up in Slytherin," Draco pointed out. Celia patted his arm and turned out the bedside lamp.

"Only because of you," she said, curling up into Draco's side. He placed an arm tightly around her shoulders and kissed the corner of her mouth. "Besides, what's wrong with Gryffindor?"

Draco pondered on this. He found that as much as he tried to think of an answer, he couldn't find a solution to his wife's question. Scorpius's parents curled up and talked about him for another hour, before they fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next day, Scorpius's parents took him into Diagon Alley. Scorpius had been there a few times before, but only when his mother needed supplies for the household, and when she had purchased her cat.

The first thing they did was go into Ollivander's wand shop. Scorpius had never been in this dusty, cramped store before. He heard a scuffling from behind the desk, and a big-eyed man stepped out from behind one of the shelves. He looked at Scorpius's mother and smiled.

"Celia Validus. Oak and Dragon heartstring, ten inches, incredibly powerful wand. Is it still treating you well?"

"Yes, Mr. Ollivander," Scorpius's mother replied, digging her wand out of her robe's pocket. She held it up to the light. "Perfect condition."

"Good, good," Ollivander murmured, setting his eyes on Scorpius's father. "Draco Malfoy. Hawthorne, unicorn hair, 9 ¾ inches, springy. You got your wand back, I presume?"

"Yes sir," Scorpius's father said, and Scorpius smirked into his elbow. He had never heard his father call anyone sir. But the smirk was wiped off his face as Ollivander bore down on him. His eyes seemed to grow larger.

"Who is this?" Ollivander asked.

"This is out son, Scorpius," Celia said. She placed a hand on her son's head. "He needs a wand."

"Oh ho," Ollivander said, turning away from the family. He waved his own wand, and a tape measure flew over to Scorpius, taking the measurements of his arms, legs, torso, his feet, the diameter of his head… "Here." Ollivander pulled a box off one of the top shelves, took out a wand and handed it to Scorpius. "Vine, unicorn hair, ten inches, perfect for charms." Scorpius raised the wand, but immediately, Ollivander snatched it back. "No, no," he muttered to himself. Ollivander placed the wand back in the box, and then plucked another box off a bottom shelf. He handed Scorpius a longer wand this time. "Cherry, phoenix feather, thirteen and a half inches. Try."

Scorpius knew, as soon as his fingers touched the wand that this belonged to him. The wood seemed to mold to his fingers, and Scorpius got a warm, powerful feeling as he picked up the wand. He waved it through the air, and a bird burst from the tip.

"Oh my," his mother said, waving her own wand, and the bird disappeared.

"Well," Ollivander said, beaming. "The wand chooses the wizard, does it not?" He looked curiously at Scorpius's father. "It seems your son also has an affinity for powerful wands, Mr. Malfoy."

"Dad?" Scorpius asked curiously. "What's that mean?"

But Draco just shook his head. He dug out two galleons from his pocket and handed them to Mr. Ollivander, who in turn, handed Scorpius a box to keep his wand in. Scorpius carefully laid his wand inside the box and handed it to his mother for safekeeping.

Next, Scorpius and his mother went to the apothecary to buy potions supplies. Draco was supposed to come too, but instead, lingered outside the Quidditch supply store, admiring the new firebolts on their stands.

The apothecary fascinated Scorpius. His mother handed him a potions kit, and then took her time looking around the store, picking up some beetle eyes, powdered unicorn horn, newt tails, and things like that. Scorpius was drawn to the jars that lined the shelves, where preserved intestines lay. Scorpius looked into the nearest jar, at a preserved dragon's heart was floating in green liquid. He glanced into the jar, and then stumbled backwards in surprise, nearly knocking over a barrel of wormwood shavings. There was an eye looking through the jar on the other side.

"Sorry!" the other person said. A girl emerged from the other side of the shelf, blushing a bit. She was shorter than Scorpius, but not by much. She had long red hair and big blue eyes that seemed wise for her age. She looked curiously at Scorpius, who looked curiously back at her.

"I'm Scorpius," he finally managed to say. The girl smiled back, and Scorpius noticed that her teeth were nearly perfect.

"I'm-"

"Rose!" A voice called. Another woman emerged from behind the shelves, her arms laden with shopping bags. "Rose, these are your supplies for next year. I can trust you will hold some of them." Rose's mother looked down at Scorpius, and a look of recognition crossed her face.

"Scorpius!" his own mother called out. She pushed past the barrel of wormwood, and then found her son. "Wondered where you got off to." She smiled, and then saw whom Scorpius was talking to. The mothers looked at each other, smiled broadly, and laughed. Scorpius and Rose were shunted aside as the women hugged.

"Hermione Granger!" Scorpius heard his mother exclaim. "Good god, I haven't seen you since…well, since Harry's wedding. That was years ago."

"It's so good to see you," Hermione said sweetly, patting Celia's back. She pulled back and looked Celia up and down. "You look just like we did when we were seventeen."

"I was just thinking the same thing about you," Celia replied. She looked down at Rose. "This must be your daughter, Rose. Nice to meet you."

Rose smiled shyly, and turned towards her mother. Hermione drew her daughter into her side and stroked her hair.

"Rose, this is Celia and her son, Scorpius Malfoy." Scorpius wondered how she knew that, but figured that she must have been a friend of his mother's, back before he could remember anything. At the sound of his name, Rose's eyes narrowed. Not in a mean way, but an analytical manner. "How old is Scorpius now, Celia?"

"He turned eleven in May," Celia said promptly, and smoothed back her son's hair. "And Rose?"

"Eleven," Hermione beamed. "They'll be off to Hogwarts together, then."

"I suppose so."

Hermione and Celia chatted for a few more moments, while Scorpius and Rose eyed each other apprehensively. Eventually, the women said goodbye, hugged once more, and then took their children out of the shop. When they were leaving, Rose waved goodbye to Scorpius. Hesitantly, he waved back.

"We saw Hermione and her daughter," Celia told Draco as they met at the ice cream store. Scorpius dug in his father's pocket, extracted a few sickles, and ran up to the counter without his parents noticing.

"And?" Draco asked, stiffening a little.

"She was nice," Celia said, frowning at her husband. "Always is. Her daughter is headed to Hogwarts this year as well."

Draco groaned. "It's going to be like our year all over again."

"Oh," Celia said quietly, rolling her eyes. "I don't think so. After all, Rose was very pretty."

**A/N: just another reminder for you all, I have crossed this story with Odd One Out. While it's true that in Audacity, Draco and Celia have been in love since they were teenagers, and while Celia is friends with Hermione, she was NEVER romantically involved with Harry. Sorry if that's confusing. Just imagine the back story of Odd One Out, without any Harry/Celia romanticism. They will be revealed to be friends in this story, but their relationship was always platonic. Just trying to clear up some confusion. **


	3. Chapter 3

There was only one thing that intimidated Scorpius more than being sorted. And that was the train ride. He hadn't met anyone yet, expect for Rose, and according to his mother, she had many cousins and relatives that attended Hogwarts. Scorpius didn't expect her to sit with him. And why should she? She didn't even know him.

Scorpius knew that when his parents were younger, they didn't need to worry about the train rides. They had been best friends since they were young. They always rode the train together. His father told him that he had met his friend Goyle on that train ride in their first year, and that they had become fast friends. Scorpius's mother told him that because the students at Hogwarts lived together, they tended to make friends fast, because they didn't want to be left out. She told Scorpius not to worry, just to be kind, and that he would make friends as easily as Draco had.

On September 1st, Draco, Celia, and Scorpius arrived at Kings Cross Station at precisely 10:45 am. Scorpius pushed the cart that contained all his new trunks, filled with his school supplies. His father carried the birdcage that contained Scorpius's owl, Diao.

"There it is," his mother said, shunting aside a muggle. The muggle glared, but Celia didn't notice. She pointed towards a barrier in the middle of platforms nine and ten. As they watched, a boy ran through, followed by his brother and his mother. Scorpius nervously patted his pocket, where he could feel his train ticket.

"Go on, Scorpius," his father boomed. He patted his son's arm. "Run at it. It won't hurt."

"Come on, sweetheart." His mother held out a hand to Scorpius's father. "We'll be right behind you."

Scorpius looked back at the barrier. It was made of brick, and looked very solid. He slowly pushed his cart forward, through the rapidly moving groups of muggles, and then began to move a little faster. The barrier loomed closer, more imposing than before. Scorpius could see the bricks, how they were crumbling a bit at the edges, and the dirty grout…he closed his eyes, and then…there was no collision. Scorpius opened his eyes. He had run right through the wall. He smiled triumphantly, and turned around to look back at the barrier. His mother and father had, indeed, come out right behind him. They were still holding hands.

To Scorpius's right was the train. It was beautiful. It was red and black and polished and shiny. There was steam oozing out from the tracks, and Scorpius could hear the engine humming lightly. He pushed his cart towards the train.

There were students everywhere. They were holding cats, owls, and toads. Some were playing with gobstones. Some were anxiously stuffing their pockets with money or dungbombs. Scorpius spotted a girl with short black hair and an upturned nose, whose mother looked just like her. When her mother saw Scorpius's parents, she quickly looked away, as if she was frightened. Scorpius pushed his cart by them, and then stopped at the next compartment when his mother grabbed his shoulder.

Scorpius's mother leaned down so she could look her son in the eye.

"You have some galleons?" Celia asked. She reached out and smoothed back a hair that had fallen onto his forehead. Scorpius gently pushed her hand away and smoothed down his own hair. He liked his hair slicked back in a certain way, just like his father's. Celia smiled slightly.

"Yes."

"Don't buy too many cauldron cakes." Celia bit her lip, and Scorpius could see tears in her startlingly clear blue eyes. "Write me when you get to school. Actually, write me after your first day. I want to hear about your classes."

"Yeah," Draco agreed, bending down as well. "Tell me how the Herbology Professor teaches you. I swear, if Longbottom-"

"Draco." Celia glared disapprovingly at her husband, who raised his hands in surrender, but smiled and winked at his son when she looked away for a moment.

"Be nice," Celia told Scorpius. "Make friends."

"No, mum," Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. "I'll bully them all."

"Just the Weasleys and Potters," Draco muttered under his breath. Celia punched him on the arm, and Draco looked reasonably abashed. "Ignore what I said."

"Wait, why?" Scorpius asked rather loudly. "Who are they?"

Instead, Celia planted a large kiss on her son's forehead. Draco embraced his son as the conductor let out a loud, piercing whistle.

"Better get on," Scorpius told his parents, glancing at the open train doors. Kids were already climbing on board. His mother let out a small sob, and Scorpius felt his stomach tighten. Draco grabbed his trunks and handed them to Scorpius, who tightened his fingers around the cool metal handles. Celia curled her hand around her husband's arm. Scorpius waved, and then hopped on the train. The door shut behind him with a large slam. Scorpius gulped, looked around at all the chatting students, and then began to make his way down the hall. A magical firework hurtled at him, and Scorpius ducked to avoid it. In the process, he accidentally fell against one of the compartment doors.

"Hey!" A voice said. The door opened, and Scorpius braced himself. Then, he recognized who was at the door. Rose Weasley, who he had met the other day, was standing in the doorway, already wearing her robes. Everyone in her compartment stared at Scorpius. Rose smiled at him, and Scorpius smiled back. Her smile was contagious. "We met the other day. Want to sit with us?"

Scorpius felt his stomach melt happily, like butter on mashed potatoes. Slowly, he lugged his things inside.

"Sure," he replied, looking around at the other kids in the compartment. There were just two, an older boy with dark hair, and a boy Scorpius's age, with bright green eyes.

"Let me help with your stuff," the older boy said. He grabbed the birdcage and set Diao on one of the racks, next to a cat carrier. Inside was an orange haired cat with a smashed face. The older boy reached for Scorpius's next trunk, and then paused. His eyes raked over the bottom, where Scorpius's initials were imprinted. "S.L.M," he read out loud. The younger boy looked anxiously at Rose, who had primly taken her seat, and then looked at Scorpius. "What's your surname?"

"Malfoy," Scorpius said somewhat proudly. He took the empty seat next to Rose. On her lap was their book of spells for the year. She had already taken notes in it, in compact, neat cursive. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy. Who are you?"

"James Potter," the older boy said. He lugged Scorpius's trunk onto one of the shelves. He dusted off his hands, and then took a seat next to the younger boy. Based on looks, they could've been brothers. "And this is my little brother, Albus."

"It's just Al," Albus muttered. So they were brothers. Scorpius paused, and then stared intently at them. He tried to remember where he had heard their name before.

…_just the Weasleys and Potters, _his father had said. Scorpius could tell that his father had been kidding, but at the same time, why would he name those two families specifically? And here Scorpius was, sitting in a compartment with both members from both families.

Scorpius had a feeling he knew the Potter name from somewhere else too, but he couldn't place it.

"It's Al's first year too," Rose piped up. She closed her textbook. "James is a second year. He's just sitting with us because his mum told him to."

"Well, I could be sitting with my friends," James pointed out to Rose, in a rather rude tone. Al offered Scorpius a small nod.

"I think it's fine if you go now," Al told James, who sighed with relief. He got up and yanked open the compartment door. Outside, Scorpius could see the English countryside zooming by.

"So," Rose said, once the door closed. "Where do you want to be sorted?"

Scorpius squirmed a bit under her intense, no-nonsense gaze. It was almost intimidating, how serious her eyes were.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Anywhere but Hufflepuff, really. My whole family's been in Slytherin."

"We've all been in Gryffindor," Al told Scorpius, blushing a little. "The rival house." Scorpius grinned at him.

"Well, I do hope we can face off in Quidditch." Suddenly, Scorpius remembered where he had heard the name Potter before. Al looked out the window with those vibrant eyes, and Scorpius remembered how his mother had told him about Harry Potter, the hero who had defeated the most evil wizard of all time. She told him that Harry had been in her year at Hogwarts, and he had the brightest green eyes she had ever seen. Scorpius pushed this to the back of his mind. "How do you know each other?" he asked Rose.

"We're cousins," Rose replied. "My father's sister is Al's mother." She blinked for a moment. "We have lots of relatives at school." Rose reached into her book bag and pulled out a fat book, labeled _Wizarding History and Genoleology of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. _"We have Al, James and me, and then Victoire, Louis, Roxanne, and Fred…"

"Not to mention Lily and Hugo will be going here next year," Al pitched in. "And Ted's basically a family member."

"Oh yes," Rose replied. She opened the book to the index, and then paused as she ran her finger down the lines of names. She paused on the M's. "Well, that's weird."

"What?" Scorpius asked, glancing at the book. Rose tapped her finger against her lips. Scorpius noticed how full they were. They were red, like the center of a peach, the part that surrounded the pit.

"You're a pure-blood, aren't you?" Rose asked him. Without waiting for an answer, she plowed on. "Of course you are, you're a Malfoy. Not to be creepy, but we're distantly related. Your parents are purebloods, like my dad. And so, somehow, we must be related. All pure-blood families are."

Scorpius glanced at Al, who rolled his eyes.

"She does this all the time," Al explained. "She's a genius."

Rose smiled, and then shoved the book back in her bag. "It's just a hobby. And I'm really not a genius."

_Yes she is, _Al mouthed to Scorpius, who snickered. This time, Rose rolled her eyes. Suddenly, the door opened. Scorpius looked up to see an incredibly stunning girl who must have been around sixteen or seventeen years old. She had pale skin and long hair that had a silver-ish tint to it. It fell to her waist, like a waterfall. His mouth fell open at the sight of her.

"There you are," she said in a bossy, but kind voice. On her chest was a Prefect's badge. "I reassured your mum that I would look after you, Rose. She's awfully terrifying sometimes. I thought she was going to hex me if I refused." The girl paused, and then looked at Scorpius, noticing him for the first time. "Who're you?"

"Victoire," Rose said slowly. "This is Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy."

Victoire's eyes widened. Scorpius felt like smirking a bit. He thought it was rather funny how everyone reacted to his name, when they had names that were just as different.

"Malfoy?"

"Malfoy," Scorpius confirmed, glaring a bit. Why was everyone reacting like this? What was connected to his name, to his ancestor's name? Victoire bit her glossy bottom lip, looked from Al to Rose, and then backed out of the compartment.

"Where's James?"

"He left for his own compartment," Al told her. Victoire smiled at Al and Rose, took one last, curious glance at Scorpius and closed the compartment door.

"She didn't seem to like me," Scorpius commented. Al blushed a little and looked away, embarrassed at the plaintive statement. Rose, however, looked Scorpius directly in his eyes.

"It's not you. It's your name. You see, you're a Malfoy."

"So?" Scorpius challenged. "What's wrong with that?" He remembered how his father told him what he might be perceived as. That the other students might think he was a dark wizard, like Draco had once been.

"Technically," Rose began in a frank tone. "Our families don't get along. I think Victoire was just surprised to see you in this compartment, given the History."

Scorpius felt his blood pressure rise, and his neck began to heat up under his starched collar. Stiffly, he reached up onto the luggage rack and pulled down Diao's cage and then his trunk.

"I'll get going," Scorpius said in a horrible, hate-filled tone. He didn't need this, not on his first day. "I won't stick around to surprise anyone else."

Rose blinked rapidly as he pulled open the compartment door.

"That's illogical," she began to say, but Scorpius closed the door loudly behind him, cutting her off. Rose sank back into her seat. Al watched as she suddenly stood and looked out the compartment window, looking to see which way Scorpius went. "It's too bad. I thought it was nice."

Rose took her seat again, and Al noticed that her face was true to her word. She was crestfallen.

When they arrived at Hogwarts, Scorpius put on his robes for the first time. He had found a compartment with a few other kids. They weren't as friendly as Rose and Al, and to be frank, he didn't like them at all. They were a sour bunch, who criticized all the houses. Even Slytherin, though they did say that is where they wished to be sorted. Scorpius pushed his things out of the compartment before they could, and hopped down the train steps.

"Let me get those things for you," a voice said. Scorpius watched as one of the conductors put his luggage on a trolley, along with other student's things.

"Firs' years," another voice called. Scorpius squinted into the night, and then gasped when he saw who was calling out. A man who was easily three times taller than his father was beckoning to the unloading students. He had a wild beard and huge hands. Scorpius guessed this must be Hagrid, the groundskeeper. His father had told him about Hagrid. He had served detention with him once, back when he was a first year. Draco had said this with a sneering tone, but then warned Scorpius not to be rude to Hagrid, just because he had. "Firs' years this way!"

Scorpius fought against the tide of students until he reached Hagrid. "Righ'." Hagrid looked down at the assembling first years. When he caught sight of Scorpius, he frowned slightly. "We'll be takin' the boats across the lake. Tha' way." Hagrid pointed down a small slope, where boats were tethered to the beach. Students began to run for the boats, and Scorpius followed. He could feel his heart race increase. This was it. He was here.

"Wondered where you got off to." A serene voice startled Scorpius as he stood on the shore. Rose had stopped next to him. She looked out over the lake, and in the light of the lanterns, her hair glowed like a dying ember. She turned to smile slightly at Scorpius. "You're really hot headed."

"I-" Scorpius began to protest, but she continued, as if he hadn't spoken.

"It doesn't really matter to me who your parents are or what they've done. Your surname is just that, a name. It was given to you. Whatever's associated with that name, it doesn't mean you brought it around." Rose paused as Hagrid shuffled them forward, towards the next boat. "I really think we should be friends. Al does too, but I don't know where he is at the moment. Otherwise, he would agree."

Scorpius opened and closed his mouth. He felt mortified. How rude, how temperamental he had been.

"Sure," he agreed, and offered Rose a tentative smile. "Even if I'm in Slytherin?"

"No promises," Rose joked. And together, they stepped into the next boat to Hogwarts.

**A/N: Review please! I love getting reviews, they really inspire me and encourage me to keep writing. **


	4. Chapter 4

Scorpius always thought his house was huge. There were rooms he wasn't even aloud to be in. And his grandmother's hospital room easily could've fit in his mother's closet. Technically, home wasn't even a house, it was a manor. But the castle…it had to be at least five times larger than Scorpius's own house.

"It's over 100,000 years old," Rose told Scorpius as the boat glided over the lake. "My mother gave me a copy of _Hogwarts, A History. _There's seven stories and more than sixteen staircases in the main hall alone. Not to mention secret passageways and everything." Scorpius nodded, but truthfully, he wasn't really listening. All he could pay attention to was the way the light from the stained glass windows glittered on the glassy lake surface, the way the clouds draped the tallest towers, and the way he could see the horseless carriages trotting towards the school.

When their boat bumped against the shore next to the boathouse, Rose jumped from her seat and onto solid land. Scorpius realized that she had been relatively quiet for the past few moments, and she looked a little green.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius asked her, stepping onto the sand.

"Fine," Rose gasped, waving a hand. "Just a little seasick is all."

"Family trait." Albus had joined them. He placed his hands on his knees and bent over retching a little. "I hate water."

"Babies," Scorpius smirked. Rose raised a hand and slapped Scorpius in the stomach, so he doubled over in pain. "Okay," Scorpius relented, wheezing from the blow. She was unreasonably strong.

"Firs' Years, this way!" Hagrid jumped from his own boat, a lantern in hand, and began to wave them forward. "The castle is this way." Shivering, the first years began to trek up the stairs that wound around the side of the castle and past the boathouse. Scorpius pulled his robes more tightly around his shoulders. The night air was frigid and un-welcoming.

Rose's bottom lip had turned a frightening shade of blue. She glanced down at it over the bridge of her nose, and then turned to Scorpius. "I-i-is my lip blue?" Her teeth chattered a bit. Scorpius squinted at her lower gum.

"Yeah," Scorpius replied. "Come on." He grabbed Rose's elbow and pushed by another pack of students. "If we get inside faster, it'll be warmer."

"Why don't you just kiss it and make it better, Malfoy?" A sneering voice erupted right next to Scorpius's shoulder. He saw the pug-faced girl he had seen earlier at the station, standing next to a tall African boy who could've snapped Scorpius in half. The girl laughed, and the boy laughed with her.

"What's y-you-your problem?" Rose stuttered, still freezing cold.

"I don't have a problem," the girl replied innocently. She looked disdainfully at Rose.

"No, Malfoy's got one," the boy said, puffing out his chest.

"How do you know my name?" Scorpius asked him. Scorpius reached in his pocket for his wand. He breathed heavily, trying to remember what his father had told him about his temper. Scorpius had inherited his mother's ferocity and his father's split-second decision making. His father had always told him that when he got mad, just to breathe and count to ten before making a decision. In his head, Scorpius was counting to ten so fast that the numbers blurred together. He tightened his fist around the handle of his wand, but then, Hagrid pushed open the doors to the school.

The girl and the boy just let out low, nasty laughs, and pushed past Rose and Scorpius to get into the school. The girl turned around to look at Scorpius and gave him the evil eye. Scorpius felt his face get red with anger, but Rose was latched onto his elbow. She tugged a bit on him. Scorpius felt his pulse slow as he looked back at her. She was still shivering a little, but the blue in her lip was gone. She let go of his elbow.

"Better?" Scorpius asked as they climbed the stairs after Hagrid.

"Better," Rose confirmed. She looked towards the top of the stairs, and then let out a small squeal. "Look! It's Professor Longbottom."

At the top of the stairs stood a tall man with a round face. He had short brown hair and wore a kind smile. He had his hands clasped in front of him, a symbol of power. The first years stopped in his path. Scorpius wondered why his father didn't like this man.

"All yours, Neville." Hagrid smiled at the man, and then opened a pair of doors behind Professor Longbottom. Scorpius could hear loud traces of conversation from within, but Hagrid quickly shut the doors behind him.

"Alright. Welcome to Hogwarts." Professor Longbottom smiled down at Rose, who beamed back. Albus had arrived at her side, panting slightly, and Professor Longbottom winked at him. "For those of you who do not know me, I am Professor Longbottom, Deputy Headmaster. I am also Professor of Herbology. And this evening, I am in charge of the sorting." Whispers began to generate through the body of students, but Neville ignored this. "There are four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin."

"James once told me that to get sorted, you had to capture a centaur," Albus whispered. Rose rolled her eyes. "He was kidding though."

"When you go through those doors." Neville jerked a thumb behind him, pointing at the elaborate double doors. "You will try on the sorting hat, which will determine what house you will be in this year. Your house is your home. As Professor McGonagall once told me 'your triumphs win your houses points. Your failures cost you points.' Everyone is affected by the house system." Silence fell upon the first years.

Scorpius had that feeling of snakes in his stomach. He hoped he would be placed in Slytherin. He knew his family had been placed there, and he didn't want to disappoint his parents. He glanced at Rose. However, he had only made two friends so far. What if they weren't placed where he was? An icy shard of panic went through his heart.

"Let's go in, shall we?" Neville opened the doors to the great hall. The first thing Scorpius saw was the enchanted ceiling, which was a clear navy blue, dotted with sparkling stars. His mother told him that when she and Scorpius's father got married, they had a ceiling like that in the church. There were five long tables. Four were on the floor, and were filled with students of all ages. The fifth table was on a platform at the edge of the hall. A severe looking woman in a golden chair sat at the middle point of the table. Before her was a stool with a worn, frayed old hat. It was motionless for a moment, but when the first years reached the steps, the brim opened. Scorpius's jaw dropped as it began to sing.

_Four strong people once bonded together_

_People of all background and types,_

_To make a school that would tether_

_Magic to the pipes _

_Of young students. _

_Great Gryffindor, of noble stock, _

_Taught those who broke from the flock,_

_Students who were independent _

_And whose minds were surely transcendent._

_Kind Hufflepuff, the sweetest yet,_

_Brought in students who she would whet,_

_With her tenderness and compassion,_

_Her words would bring about passion._

_Austere Ravenclaw, blessed with wit,_

_Would take only those who showed true grit,_

_Who demonstrated ingenuity, _

_And surely would bring about acuity._

_Shrewd Slytherin, with a sharp mind,_

_Would cunning and ambition twined_

_Take students with those traits alone,_

_Students fit for a pureblood throne._

_The brightest witches and wizards our world has seen_

_Would eventually break in a manner not clean,_

_Resulting in secrets and lies_

_That would cause the demise of the founders._

_But now, after so much time has passed_

_The terrible memories have been past,_

_The four houses have re-united to create_

_Students who will make the wizarding world great._

_So students, remember this, _

_Opportunities you will miss_

_If your houses ask you to divide._

_So rather, stand up and ask the houses to side._

The brim to the hat abruptly closed. Applause echoed throughout the hall.

"Interesting," Rose whispered to Al. "Even after all this time…" she drift off. Scorpius furrowed his brow. His parents had told him that the houses got along now. Was the Sorting Hat saying they were mistaken?

"Scarlett Aricksen," Neville called out, reading from the long scroll before him. The pug-faced girl who had been rude to Scorpius earlier scuttled up the stairs. She smoothed her brown hair before sitting down on the stool. Neville placed the hat on her head.

"Slytherin!" It roared instantly. A huge smirk spread over her face, and she handed the hat back to Neville before running down to the emerald clad table.

"Ted Bomer!" And the list went on and on, passing by names that sounded somewhat familiar to Scorpius. And then, finally: "Scorpius Malfoy!"

There it was. His name had been called. And unless Scorpius imagined it, there was a whisper that spread through the hall like wildfire. There was a reason everyone knew his name, but Scorpius wasn't sure why. Slowly, he ascended the stairs to the stool. Professor Longbottom gestured to the stool, and Scorpius sat down heavily. He could see Rose and Al, standing with the remaining students, watching anxiously. When the hat was lowered onto Scorpius's head, it felt as if a pencil was prodding around in his brain.

"What have we here," the hat questioned, muttering inside Scorpius's brain. "Another Malfoy, then? The true son of your father, no doubt." The vision of Scorpius's parents fought to the front of his brain. "And your mother, too? I remember her quite well…Alright then." The hat paused for a moment. "I see your parents have tried to make up for their mistakes in you. Better be…Gryffindor!"

This time, hardly anyone cheered. There were a few rounds of applause from the Gryffindor table, and Rose and Al cheered as well. The Professor Longbottom looked rather confused as he drew the hat off Scorpius's head, and over at the Slytherin table, all the students stared at Scorpius as if he had deeply offended them.

Slowly, Scorpius descended the stairs ad took a seat at the Gryffindor table, next to Albus's brother.

"Who would have thought it?" James asked aloud. "A Malfoy in Gryffindor."

"Yeah," Scorpius said, glancing over his shoulder at the Slytherin table as Albus was sorted into Gryffindor. He felt slightly sick to his stomach. "Who would have thought it."


	5. Chapter 5

Scorpius didn't feel at home in the Gryffindor tower. Once their prefects had lead them to the tower, Albus and Scorpius had entered their dorm room, along with their newest classmates, Avery, Nash, and Travis. Immediately, Nash flopped down on the bed closest to the door. He was the tallest of the five, and exuded confidence you could sense from a mile away.

"Mine," he proclaimed, throwing his arms around, and then flipping over onto his stomach. Scorpius noted that Nash's trunk was already at the end of his bed. Scorpius's bed was close to a window, which he liked. Scorpius pulled Diao's empty cage off his trunk and opened the trunk. He changed into his pajamas, and then lay down on his bed, exhausted. Al had the bed next to him, which made Scorpius feel slightly better, but he still wasn't comfortable.

All his life, Scorpius had heard his parent's descriptions of being in Slytherin. They had told him of elegant common room with the leather couches and the crystal lamps that emitted a soft green glow and the sleigh-like beds that were as comfortable as a cloud. He had heard of their adventures in the common room; exploring the dungeons at night, playing chess and gobstones in front of the fire, even celebrating Christmas in that common room. The Slytherin common room meant so much to Scorpius, even more than a place to relax, because it was his parent's. Whether the other students realized it or not, it was his parent's room, because they had created so much history there.

The Gryffindor common room was different. It was in a high tower, from one side of the room, one could look out over the lake, and from the other side, Scorpius could see the Quidditch Pitch. The chairs and couches were all red, but the upholstery didn't match. There was a chess set, an iron chandelier, and round tables for people to do homework at. The beds were all set in handsome cherry, and they all had heavy red velvet curtains pulled around the headboard. It was beautiful room, but Scorpius didn't feel comfortable.

"Are you okay?" Al asked quietly as he pulled down the covers to his own bed.

Scorpius smirked, and tossed his wand up and down in one hand. "I'm fine. Worrywart."

Al made a face, and then flipped over on his side with his back to Scorpius. Immediately, the smirk disappeared from Scorpius's face. Avery and Travis were still up and chatting about their home lives.

"Half-blood," Travis was saying. "My dad fought against the death eaters. Nearly got killed, too. But he escaped, just barely. My mum found him on the side of a road near Wiltshire, nearly dead." Travis threw a loathsome look at Scorpius. "He says a lot of old Death Eaters live in Wiltshire."

Scorpius felt his temper flare again. Both Nash and Al sat up in their beds, and turned to stare at Scorpius.

"What are you talking about?" Scorpius hissed, staring daggers at Travis.

Travis let out a short laugh. "It's a surprise you're in Gryffindor, seeing as how your parents were Death Eaters."

"They were not!" Scorpius jumped from his mattress, his hands curled into fists. The rest of the boys stared, and the Al spoke up.

"Scorpius is right. His parents helped defeat Voldemort." Everyone stared at Al, mostly because he had just used the name of the Wizard who they weren't allowed to discuss.

"Let's hope this Malfoy is as brave as his parents, then," Travis responded. He avoided Scorpius's eyes and he leaned down to pull open his trunk. Avery met Scorpius's eyes, shook his head slightly, and then leaned back on his mattress.

"I need water," Scorpius said quietly. He grabbed his wand off his nightstand and started towards the door that lead to the common room.

"It's after curfew," Travis pointed out.

"Well look at that," Scorpius sneered back. "I'm taking after my parents, aren't I? I'm a lot braver than you, breaking curfew…" Scorpius took care to slam the door behind him as hard as he could. He slowly crept down the iron stairs. Truthfully, Scorpius didn't feel as courageous as he had pretended to be. All he wanted was to get a glass of water and then go back to bed. But as his foot touched the ground to the common room, Scorpius saw a curious sight. A transparent figure floated through the portrait hole. It was a ghost. He had never seen one before. While his mother had told him there were many at Hogwarts, including a poltergeist, they had remained absent at the welcoming feast.

Scorpius glanced around him, looking to see if anyone was watching. When he was sure no one was, he scrambled through the portrait hole, and began to follow the ghost. He didn't shout out to it, because he didn't want to scare it away. Scorpius watched it float from staircase to staircase, and Scorpius would follow, careful to stay two staircases behind, so he wouldn't be spotted. On the third floor, the ghost floated off the staircase and began to move into the corridor. Scorpius hopped off the staircase and began to follow him. The portraits on the walls were all asleep, and in the dark, Scorpius squinted at his wristwatch, straining to see the numbers. The hands indicated that it was well past eleven, it was nearly twelve.

The ghost bobbed along the corridor, and then paused in front of a window. In the moonlight, Scorpius saw his first glimpse of the ghost's features. It was a sour looking man, with long, straggly hair and a hooked nose. He wore long robes that flapped around his arms. The man's eyes were black and round and extremely clever. But Scorpius could also see he was extremely sad.

The ghost floated through a door on his right. Scorpius stole out from behind the column he was stowed behind, and walked up to the door. Carefully, he placed a hand on the gold knob and opened the door. It was a long hallway, with torches on either side. Portraits lined the walls, and at the sound of the door opening, they awoke.

"What are you doing, boy?" One of them hissed at Scorpius. He wore a tea cozy on his head and had a frizzy mop of grey hair. Scorpius ignored him and shut the door quietly. He sunk down on the stairs, and then peered out behind the railing. The ghost had floated all the way down the hallway and had turned the corner. Scorpius stood up ad began to jog after the ghost. At the end of the corridor, a portrait suddenly stopped him.

"Stop," the person in the portrait commanded. Scorpius, startled, fell over. He looked up to see a tall portrait of a handsome boy who was a few years older than he was.

"Who're you?" Scorpius asked, standing up. He dusted off his palms on his pajama pants.

"My name was Cedric Diggory, back when I went to Hogwarts." The boy smiled kindly down at Scorpius, but then his voice took an urgent tone. "I'm going to tell you this: do not follow that ghost. That is the ghost of Severus Snape, an old teacher at Hogwarts. If he sees you down here, he will tell you're the head of your house."

Scorpius took a step back. "Thank you," he whispered. Slowly, he began to back up towards the door, as quietly as he could without making a sound. Suddenly, a whispering noise reached Scorpius's ears. Cedric looked panicked as another portrait whispered to him.

"He's coming," Cedric mouthed at Scorpius. Scorpius felt a pit of nerves drop open inside his chest. He had only been in school a few hours and here he was, poised to get in trouble. He had nowhere to hide, he was out in the open, and the door was several yards away. He had no time to run. Before Scorpius could sink to the floor and curl up in a ball, hoping to become invisible, a hand reached out and grabbed his sleeve. Someone yanked him harshly, and a cloak was thrown over Scorpius's body. Scorpius let out a breath of relief and looked to his side. James, Albus and Rose were standing under the cloak, breathing heavily too.

The ghost of Snape floated back into the room, and the four of them began to ease backwards.

"Do my ears mistake me?" The ghost asked in a slow, precise tone. "Or was a student lurking around this corridor a few moments ago?"

The portraits didn't say anything, even though Snape stared expectantly at them. Cedric finally spoke up.

"Professor, it was Peeves. He said he had seen a student sneaking around, and he was trying to find them." Cedric bit his lips. "His arms were full of blazing bombs, the Weasley ones…"

"Damn things," the ghost muttered, flying towards the group. The four of them ducked, even though Snape was at least three feet to their right. "They let off those god-awful screams and ruin all the carpets." Snape flew through the door and disappeared.

"Are you barking?" James asked, turning on Scorpius. "Sneaking around your first night? As a first year?"

"I hadn't seen a ghost before," Scorpius explained.

"It was scientific, James," Rose reprimanded her cousin. Albus and James rolled their eyes.

"You really should have been placed in Ravenclaw," Al told her.

"The whole family's been in Gryffindor, I wouldn't be a Weasley if I wasn't in that house," Rose beamed. Al glanced at Scorpius, who looked straight ahead, refusing to let his face betray his emotions.

"Come on," James said in a huffy tone. "Let's get back to the common room, alright? Wren, Mose and Reyna are all waiting. We wanted to take the cloak out tonight."

"You shouldn't even be taking it out," Albus protested as they cracked open the door and began to make their way down the third floor corridor. "You stole it from Dad."

"He gave it to me," James argued, and they hopped onto one of the moving staircases, which let out a loud creak as it sailed upwards. "Just…not this time. He let me use it last year, for a while…and I was supposed to give it back and I just…didn't."

"Whatever," Albus said, rolling his eyes. Out of the corner of Scorpius's eye, he saw Rose try to contain a giggle.

When they returned to the portrait of the Fat Lady, James gave her the password.

"Flaming Newt." The portrait swung open, though the Fat Lady looked extremely disappointed in them. James tucked the cloak in his breast pocket of his robes. "Go to bed," James commanded of the first years. The three other students in James's year were waiting on the couch. They all looked rather haughty, in Scorpius's opinion.

"Come on, James," said the girl, rising to her feet. She was extremely pretty, and Scorpius saw James blush a little when she said his name. She smiled, and her blue eyes scrunched up a bit. The other two students, one a lanky blonde boy, and the other, a handsome black boy with dreadlocks and green eyes, joined James and the girl. James swung the cloak over the four of them, and then exited the common room. Scorpius leaned against the arm of the chair.

"Where did you know to find me?" He asked Rose and Albus.

Albus nodded at Rose. "She knew."

Scorpius stared at Rose. She shrugged. "You didn't notice me when you came downstairs. I was sitting in that chair in the corner, reading. I said your name, but you had already gone. Al came down a few seconds later, looking for you, and then the four of them came." She threw her hand towards the door, gesturing to James and his friends. "Your blonde hair acts like a fire, you know. It's almost as easy to spot as mine, and I'm a flaming ginger." She stated this matter of factly, but then she smiled. "I quite like the color, you know. It's like corn silk."

"Thanks," Scorpius replied, grinning back. For a moment, Scorpius simply smiled at Rose, and she smiled back, and then Al coughed. Both of them jumped, and then stared at him. Al looked alarmed.

"I'm going to bed," he whispered.

"Oh yeah, I should too," both Rose and Scorpius said. The three friends headed towards their dormitories, Albus and Scorpius climbing the staircase on the left, and Rose on the right. When they all climbed into their own beds, they fell asleep as soon as their blonde, black, and red heads hit the pillows.

The following morning, Scorpius got up earlier than he normally did. He put on clothes and went out of the common room. He grabbed a piece of parchment, a quill, and ink from his bag, and then ventured out into the castle. He slipped out the front doors, and began to walk across the courtyard, and then the lawn. Across the suspension bridge was the owlry. Scorpius began the laborious climb into the owlry. When he arrived at the top step, he sank down and began to write on the parchment.

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_I arrived at Hogwarts all right. I met some kids who are nice, but Dad, I'm not sure if you would approve. Mum, I know you liked Rose Weasley's mother enough, but the other kids I met are the Potter brothers. Why don't you like them, dad? They seem nice enough to me._

_I'm sorry if I seem agitated. I suppose I should just tell you now that I was sorted into Gryffindor. That's why I'm so angry. I wanted to be in Slytherin like you were. I suppose things will just get better. At least, that's what I hope._

_I have to go, I have my first classes today._

_Scorpius_

Scorpius folded the parchment and headed inside. He looked up into the rafters, but he couldn't spot Diao. Quietly, he let out a little whistle through his two front teeth. At once, Diao swept down from the rafters. Scorpius held out an arm, and Diao's talons closed around it as the owl gracefully landed.

"Here," Scorpius said, and handed the letter to Diao, who clenched it tightly in his beak. "It's not a long journey, so I'm not putting the letter on your leg, alright? Take this to mum and dad."

Diao let out a muffled hoot, and then took flight, soaring out of one of the glass-free windows.

"Writing to your mum and dad?" Rose had appeared in the doorway, holding the bottle of ink and quill Scorpius had left on the steps.

"Thought they might want to know how I'm doing," Scorpius replied, somewhat sullen after pouring out all his feeling onto parchment. Rose was quiet as she turned her own letter over in her palm.

"My mum feels the same way," she said quietly, beckoning down a huge barn owl. She tied the letter to its extended leg as it blinked rapidly at her. "She worries a lot, my mum. Especially after the time she was raised in." Rose lead the owl over to the window, stroked its wing, and then threw it out into the wind. Scorpius stepped over to her side and they looked out over the forbidden forest. "You were writing to tell them you were put in Gryffindor, weren't you?"

"Yes." Scorpius didn't know quite how she detected these things, and he wasn't sure if he liked it. It was like having the sorting hat with him at all times.

"You wanted to be in Slytherin," Rose guessed. Scorpius nodded. Rose sighed and pulled her long red hair up in a ponytail. "Can I tell you a secret?"

Scorpius stared at her. "Yeah."

Rose's eyes were heavy. "I wanted to be in Ravenclaw. I felt like I would do best there, I really did. But I knew Al was going to be in Gryffindor." She swallowed. "I was afraid. I wanted to be in the same house as Al, because he's my only friend. So I made the sorting hat put me in Gryffindor."

"That's not true," Scorpius began, and Rose's eyes flashed. "Al's not your only friend." Rose blushed as she smiled at him. "Plus, he's your cousin. So I'm not sure that really counts."

Rose nodded and rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant. Were you scared, Scorpius? When you got put in Gryffindor?"

Scorpius paused for a moment before answering. "Terrified."

Rose suddenly linked her arm with his. "Let's get breakfast. Look at us, the cowardly Gryffindors."

"Yeah," Scorpius said, looking down at the grounds below. "I hope you aren't afraid of heights." Rose pinched Scorpius's ear.

A little while later, while Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy were eating breakfast in their grand dining room, a tapping sounded at the window. Celia abruptly pushed back her chair, ran around Draco's chair, and pushed open the window. Their son's handsome owl flew inside, landed on the table, and dipped it's beak in Draco's water glass.

"Disgusting bird," Draco muttered, pushing his goblet away. Diao nipped at Draco's fingers, and then flew back out the open window. Draco turned to see his wife, slumped in her chair, scanning the letter from Scorpius. Her peaches and cream face had suddenly turned very, very, white. Her eyes got bigger. "What is it, Celia?" Draco demanded, taking in her appearance.

Celia gulped as she looked at her husband. Silently, she handed the letter to him.

"See for yourself." Celia folded her hands together and placed them on the table. She was caught between the bizarre urge to laugh and swear. Draco silently read the letter, and then slowly placed it in front of him. He did not make a sound, but instead, leaned his elbows on the table. Celia watched as her husband hung his head, and then laced his hands and looped them around the back of his skull. "Darling?"

Celia waited for a minute before getting up and crouching next to her husband's chair. Gently, she reached out and pulled his elbow off the end of the table. Draco looked up at her, and his face showed tears glistening on the pale skin. Celia felt anger boil under her skin.

"You're that disappointed?" She asked, her voice icy.

"Disappointed?" Draco asked, and his voice was thick. "God, no. I'm relieved." Draco seized his wife's hand, kissed her fingertips, and then her wedding band, and held her palm against his face. Her thumb ran over the tears, blending them into Draco's pores, so they were invisible, like they had never happened. "Don't you see?" Draco rose, dragging his wife up along with him. He clutched her against him. "Our son will never make our mistakes. He will be able to finally, finally, give the Malfoy name the redemption it deserves."


	6. Chapter 6

Albus, Rose, and Scorpius attended the first Quidditch match of the year as a group. The three dressed up in heavy robes and gloves and even hand-made Gryffindor scarves with their names at the bottom, courtesy of Rose's mother.

"James is nervous," Al said at breakfast that morning, shoveling eggs into his mouth. Rose disdainfully handed him a napkin as ketchup dribbled down his chin. He pushed the napkin out of her hand and wiped his chin with the back of his hand. Scorpius snickered and Rose pinched him on the ear. "Slytherin's got a new seeker. A first year, too. But he's supposed to be really good."

"Like your dad," Rose pointed out. "I haven't seen James play, but given his parentage…"

"I have," Al said miserably. "He got all the good genes." Al poked at his food with his fork, and the laid it next to his plate. Their mandatory flying lessons had been disasterous for Albus. He had been one of the last people to command his broom, and he turned out to be rather slow on a broom. Scorpius, on the other hand, seemed to be a natural. But this wasn't a big surprise to him, because in the trophy room on the fifth floor, there was a photo of the Slytherin Quidditch Team. And right in front, in the center of the photo, was his father.

"He might be a good Quidditch player," Rose said softly, "But you're much better at school." She lowered her voice. "Plus, I think you might be your father's favorite." She straightened back up quickly as the Quidditch team lumbered towards the table, already clad in full gear.

James took a heavy seat next to his brother, his mouth set in a thin line. Beside him was his friend Wren, who also played Quidditch. James didn't say a word as he began to pile stacks of toast on his plate, not even when Scorpius started laughing at the absolutely ridiculous amount of bread before him.

"Good luck today, Potter," a voice said from behind Rose. Scorpius looked up to see the tall, unpleasant black boy he had encountered on his first day. The boy was wearing a thick emerald and silver uniform, and his silver eyes glinted mischievously. "From what I hear, you're going to need it."

"Shove off, Zabini," James laughed, swallowing a massive bite of toast. "I heard you cried your first practice, isn't that right? Threw a hissy fit when you couldn't find the snitch."

The Gryffindors chuckled appreciatively. Zabini's skin grew darker, but he pretended not to notice.

"What makes you think you'll win, Potter? Your blood-traitor parents haven't passed on their talents to you, only their filthy, useless genes."

The table gasped and began to whisper amongst themselves. Rose blanched, and James rose from his seat, his fists curled tightly. Wren grasped his arm and tried to pull him down. Then, someone put Zabini in his place. And it wasn't even James.

"You're surname's Zabini?" Scorpius rose from his seat and turned to face the boy who had been so rude to him on his first day. The boy sneered down at Scorpius, who sneered back. He had heard his father talk about the Zabini family, and his words hadn't been pleasant.

"Like your name is better?" Zabini asked, and cracked his neck.

"Well, yeah, it is," Scorpius said straight-out. "I don't have a grandmother who killed seven of her husbands, so she could collect their gold like a common whore, and a father who tried to commit fraud at Gringotts. I mean, that's what your name stands for, right?"

The table was silent for a moment, and then James let a small whistle out under his breath. Wren laughed, and Scorpius heard a few claps. Zabini glared so harshly at Scorpius, that he was sure Zabini was imagining cursing him into oblivion.

"At least I can live up to my family name," Zabini hissed, a nasty smile on his face. "I got into Slytherin. And you, well, you got put where those who have no talent go."

Scorpius honestly didn't mean to punch him. He wasn't even sure he was doing it, until he saw blood. But even then, when he saw Zabini stumble back, he did it again. And then, more Slytherins rushed over. A taller one, with shoulders like boulders, and an even taller one, that looked like a troll. But then, Albus was there too, and he was next to Scorpius, and he had kicked the trollish boy in the knees, and he fell over…

"Stop!" A voice yelled, and Scorpius was seized by the scruff of his neck. His feet left the ground and he found he was up in the air, and dangling next to him, was Albus, also being held by the scruff of his neck. Hagrid had grabbed both of them and pulled them away from the Slytherins. Zabini was lying on the floor, moaning, with a bloody nose and black eye, and the others were lying on the floor too, having been kicked in the knees and groins by Al. "Wha' are ye doin', Al?" Hagrid set Scorpius and Al down, and then pushed them towards the entrance to the Great Hall. "McGonagall's goin' to see ye abou' this. Get goin'. Ten points from Gryffindor."

And even though they had lost points from Gryffindor, as Al and Scorpius left the Great Hall, the Gryffindor table applauded them, and some of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs joined in too. James let out a hoot of laughter than echoed in Scorpius's ears. When Scorpius looked back, he could see Rose sitting at the table. She looked down at Zabini, and then violently shoved the bench back, right into his shins, so he doubled up in pain. Then, daintily, she scooted back in. Scorpius grinned.

The realization of his actions set in when Scorpius and Albus reached the Headmistress's office. Hagrid gave the Gargoyle the Password ("Dougal"), and then shoved Scorpius and Albus onto the revolving stairs.

"I'll go ge' her," he said roughly, but Scorpius didn't really think he was angry. "She'll be in the Teacher's lounge. Stay here, an' don't even think abou' leavin'." As the stairs began to revolve upwards, began to laugh.

"That was so cool," the boys chimed at the same time.

"I can't believe what he said about our parents," Albus remarked.

"Well, at least what I said about his family is true," Scorpius chuckled as the stairs stopped at an ornate door with a phoenix knocker. The door swung open at his knock, and Scorpius and Al stepped inside. Inside, the sun-lit room was hundreds, maybe even thousands of portraits. There were bookshelves, a telescope, and a cat was curled up on the desk, asleep. The chair behind the desk was empty, but the two portraits behind the desk were completely awake.

One of the portraits depicted a smiling, longhaired and long-bearded man. The other illustrated a rather unhappy looking man, with a big nose and hair that hung around his face like a curtain.

"Well, well, well," said the white-haired man, and folded his hands. He looked down over his half-moon glasses as Scorpius and Albus approached the desk. "What do we have here?"

The younger, black-haired man immediately looked down at Scorpius and Albus and froze. His eyes zeroed in on Albus, and then narrowed.

"Have you been fighting?" The dark haired man asked, his eyes traveling over Scorpius's unruly hair. Scorpius slicked his hair back.

"Not each other," Albus corrected. The dark haired man just stared at him, and the white-haired man attempted to look firm, but it looked to Scorpius like he might have been smiling.

"You're Harry's boy," he finally said, looking at Albus in wonderment.

"Yeah. I am." He squinted at the portrait. "But then…are you Dumbledore? You are, aren't you?"

"I hear we share a name," Dumbledore said to Al, beaming. The dark-haired man snorted. "But then again, don't you and Severus share a name as well?"

Albus looked at the dark-haired man, who stared back at him, just as tensely. The two of them didn't speak; they just stared at one another as if sizing each other up.

"What's your surname?" Scorpius asked, interrupting the staring match. He jutted out his chin a little. He recognized the dark-haired man, and whether it was from a portrait or an old photograph or elsewhere, he couldn't be sure. The man turned to look at Scorpius, and unless Scorpius was mistaken, the left corner of his mouth turned upwards just the slightest bit, the shadow of a smile.

"Snape."

It hit Scorpius like a train. His father and mother had always spoken highly of this man, who had saved their lives. And then, it hit him again. The ghost he had seen on his first night as a Gryffindor had also been the man in the portrait.

"You were my father's godfather," Scorpius blurted out, not looking away from the man. His face betrayed no emotion. "Draco Malfoy, do you remember-"

"Of course I remember," the man in the portrait, almost offended by the fact Scorpius thought he wouldn't remember. "I could tell you were his son the moment you walked in here. Same chin, same hair. The spitting image." The man looked back to Al, and wrinkled his nose the smallest bit. "The same with Potter's son. Same….same eyes."

The door to the office suddenly swung open. Headmistress McGonagall strode in her eyes blazing like a maniac.

"Potter! Malfoy!" She barked. For a moment, Scorpius thought she might yell at the pair of them, but she seemed at a loss for words as the pair stared at her. She opened and closed her mouth, and then let out a huff of air. "No more fighting. Ten more points from Gryffindor. And Malfoy, watch your mouth. No get going, I don't want to miss the first Quidditch match of the season."

Albus and Scorpius glanced at each other in disbelief, but then scrambled from the room, eager to head down to the pitch.

"So lucky!" Albus crowed as they ran down the stairs to the Great Hall. It was nearly empty, except for Rose, who was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. "I can't believe she let us off."

"Thank god for Quidditch," Scorpius said lightly. A few Gryffindor fifth years walked by and called out to him.

"Nice work earlier, Malfoy."

"Taught that little tosser, eh?"

The girl with them winked at Scorpius, and he felt himself blush. Rose suddenly grabbed Scorpius's scarf.

"Oh no," she moaned, yanking on it, tearing Scorpius's gaze away from the girl. "It's ripped." Albus tapped his foot impatiently and Rose gave him a withering look. "Go on then, Al. I'll fix it. We'll be there in a few minutes, I'm sure. Just save us seats, yeah?"

Scorpius nodded to Al, who quickly ran out the doors, pushing ahead of a group of Hufflepuffs.

"Sorry to make you wait," Rose apologized, pulling her wand out from her pocket. She bowed her vibrant head, and began to un-loop Scorpius's scarf from around his neck. "My mother said she was coming to the match, and she would be upset if it was already torn…"

"My mum would feel the same," Scorpius replied. Rose bit her lip, and slowly, she began to repair the damage in the scarf by pressing the tip of her wand to the torn stitches.

"Scorpius?"

"Yes?"

"What was it like for you, growing up?"

Scorpius wasn't sure what to say, he wasn't sure where this question had come from. But he didn't mind it either.

"Probably the same that it was for you, I'd imagine. Mostly. I didn't know any witches and wizards my age until I met you." Rose blinked and finished repairing his scarf. But Scorpius continued to talk, and they sunk down onto the first stair of the hall, ignoring the groups of people running around them, wearing rosettes and hats and the like. They talked about Scorpius's parents and his history. They talked about his desire to be in Slytherin, and how he was going to cope with being in Gryffindor. They talked for so long that they completely missed the match.

And even when all the Gryffindors came inside, a screaming, celebrating mass of red-and-gold, going over the incredible goals and James' amazing catch, Scorpius wasn't upset he missed the match. It felt good to finally get it all out, all of his worries and fears and apprehensions. And now, he could go on and enjoy Hogwarts. And as he and Rose stood, he glanced at her profile. She was serene and silent, though she smiled at the crowd. And Scorpius, in that moment, realized that the next six years were going to be enjoyable and do-able because of her, his rock.


	7. Chapter 7

It became a tradition that on Saturday nights, when the castle was asleep, Scorpius would sneak out of his dorm, and Rose would sneak out of hers. Neither could sleep in those hours, and so, they would sit in the Gryffindor common room, playing chess. Rose taught Scorpius how to play, and he was becoming rather good at it, which annoyed her greatly.

The Saturday evening before their Winter Holiday would start, Scorpius sat up in bed at ten. Everyone else was fast asleep, tired out from the Quidditch Match they had seen earlier. Scorpius quietly slicked back his hair, slipped from his dormitory, and crept down the stairs to the common room. Rose was already sitting at the table they usually occupied. But tonight was different. She hadn't brought the chessboard with her. Instead, sitting on the table was a silvery heap of material.

"What's that?" Scorpius asked, hopping off the bottom stair. She started, but grinned when she recognized it was Scorpius.

"Invisibility Cloak," she replied eagerly. "I know we had planned on playing chess, but I thought we might go for an adventure."

"Oh yeah?" Scorpius walked over to the table and picked up the cloak. It slipped through his hands like water. "I thought James had this. Did you nick it?"

"No," Rose admitted. "It turns out, James was quite understanding when I asked to borrow it. He told me I couldn't take Al along, because Harry would kill James if Al got caught…but it will be different if I get caught." She stood up and took the cloak from Scorpius's hands. "Besides, Al hates staying up late. I knew you don't mind."

"I have an idea," Scorpius said suddenly. Rose threw the cloak over them. The two shuffled out of the Portrait hole and into the hallway. "So," Scorpius whispered as they took a shortcut. "Why an adventure? Why tonight?"

Rose shrugged. "It's our last weekend before the Holiday. I felt like it was appropriate to study the castle before I leave it for a while. I feel like there's many things I've never seen but I would like to…things my parents have let slip over the past few years."

Scorpius remembered that his father had let something slip to, when he was younger. He had told Scorpius of a room where your heart's desire would be known and granted. But that wasn't what Scorpius was searching for tonight. It was as if Rose had read his mind, because as they entered the third floor, she hissed:

"Where are you taking me? Do you know where you're going?"

"Yes," Scorpius replied. "I saw something curious in this corridor once, and I intend to find out exactly what was so curious."

"Something curious," Rose mused, and then quickly quieted as a ghost floated past. Immediately, Scorpius recognized the ghost. It was the ghost of the man he had seen in Professor McGonagall's office; it was the man named Snape.

"Follow him," he told Rose, and the two waited a moment before scurrying after the ghost. They turned corners and squeezed through a barely-open door, passed Cedric Diggory's slumbering portrait, and then turned another corner where they came face to face with a large, gold-studded door.

"Wait," Rose said, throwing out an arm before Scorpius reached for the handle. "That ghost, he went in here. What if he hears us come in? Should we go in?" She glanced up at the door. "I must say, I'm curious what's behind such a door, but at the same time, it makes me extremely apprehensive."

"I think," Scorpius said slowly, remembering his last meeting with the man. "That we'll be alright. Trust me." Rose swallowed, but then put her arm down. Scorpius turned the elaborate gold handle and pushed open the door. At first, he thought the room must be empty. It was full of columns here and there, and one side of the wall was all windows. But that seemed to be all. That is, until Scorpius thought he heard a small, wounded cry.

"What was that?" Rose murmured, sounding panicked. Suddenly, the noise stopped. Scorpius grabbed Rose's elbow, yanked her inside the room, and flattened himself against the wall. Rose stood next to him, quaking.

"Who's there?" The ghost of Snape floated out a column, looking terrifying. His mouth was set in a grim line, and those small, beady eyes combed the room, looking for the culprit of the noise. "Reveal yourself at once, or I shall go to the headmaster." Scorpius reached for the cloak, intending to pull it off, but Rose grabbed his arm and shook her head, her eyes wide. Scorpius shook her off and pulled the cloak over his head.

"It's me, Professor." Scorpius stepped down a stair. Snape stared into the shadows, directly at Scorpius, and then recognition crossed his face.

"What are you doing out of bed, Malfoy?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Scorpius said slickly. "I couldn't sleep. I had to deliver a message to my parents, but I got a bit distracted on my way." Scorpius pulled a piece of paper from within his pocket and held it up. Snape stared at him, but didn't say a word.

"Make sure you get to the owlry before the castle closes," Snape finally replied, and floated out of the wall opposite. Rose immediately took off the cloak.

"That was brilliant, Scorpius," she said, slapping him on the back. He winced; she really was too strong. He wondered if she had left a handprint on his back.

"Of course it was." Scorpius smirked and pulled the paper from his pocket. "The parchment's blank." He winked at Rose, and then immediately scrambled down the last two stairs and weaved his way through the columns, to where Snape had been. There, in between two columns, stood a mirror. It didn't look extraordinary to Scorpius. The glass was dirty, and the gold that framed the mirror was dirtied.

"What's that?" Rose asked, looping an arm around the nearest column and swinging around it. Scorpius stood in front of the mirror, his hands by his sides. All of a sudden, he saw his reflection. But he wasn't the person who stood in front of him. The boy who stared back at Scorpius looked the same, for sure, but he held himself differently. He was taller, Scorpius realized. As Scorpius watched, the boy straightened his tie, which was not gold and yellow, but green and silver. In Scorpius's left hand was a broomstick, which he tossed back and forth easily. He was on the Slytherin Quidditch Team.

"I…" Scorpius shook his head. "This isn't right, this can't be."

"What?" Rose stopped spinning. She stepped forward, pulled Scorpius out of the way, and stood in his place. For a moment, Scorpius waited for her to tell him what he expected her to. He wanted her to say she saw herself as a Ravenclaw. Maybe this mirror revealed the houses they were truly supposed to be in. "Am I supposed to be looking at something?"

"Don't you see it?" Scorpius asked, incredulous. He stepped in front of Rose. She disappeared from behind him, and he could see himself, dressed as a Slytherin once more.

"I didn't see anything but me." Rose sounded worried. "What do you see, Scorpius? Tell me."

"I'm dressed as a Slytherin," he told her quietly. "I play Quidditch for them."

Rose was silent for a moment. She looked up at the mirror, and then ran her hand up the side of it. Words were carved on the top of it, and immediately, Rose drew back.

"Give me that parchment," she commanded of Scorpius. He handed her the blank paper, and she drew her wand from her pocket. She traced the tip of the wand over the paper, and the markings on the mirror were imprinted on the paper. Scorpius didn't like that. He didn't care what the inscriptions meant. He just wondered why he saw himself the way he did, and how Rose didn't see anything at all.

"Come on," he said after a moment, in which she stared at the words, trying to decipher them. "Let's go. This place creeps me out." And so, they ducked back under the cloak and went back up to the Gryffindor common room. Scorpius immediately went to bed, however, Rose went on to sit up in bed, under the covers, with her wand lit, trying to understand the markings from the mirror.

The day before Winter Holiday began, Al and Scorpius were packing up their trunks along with the rest of the boys in their level.

"Everyone going home?" Avery asked in his thick Irish accent, stuffing an extra pair of socks into his trunk with venom. "Me family's so big, I doubt they'll even notice if I show up."

"Going home tomorrow, but then we're going to America on Holiday." Travis glanced at Scorpius nervously. He had been nervously polite to Scorpius ever since their first meeting, and for that Scorpius felt somewhat guilty. "What about you, Scorpius?"

"Home," Scorpius said shortly. "My mum always has the family over, and some of my parent's friends. It's not bad, really."

Albus snorted through his nostrils. He had gotten good at being able to decipher Scorpius's lies from truths. Scorpius threw a book at Albus's head, but missed.

"Here," Albus said, and chucked a small, wrapped package at Scorpius. "It's your Christmas present. Don't open it here, I don't want to get all emotional…"

"Oh ha ha," Scorpius laughed dryly. Albus grinned, and Scorpius ripped open the wrapping. Inside was a spinning top, which lay motionless in his palm.

"It's a sneakscope," Al said. "My dad used to have one just like it. They tell you when someone's up to no good."

"Thanks, mate," Scorpius replied, genuinely pleased. "I have something for you." He felt guilty as he passed Albus his present, which was just a large package of chocolate frogs. But Al looked pleased all the same.

Suddenly, a knock came at the door. Travis opened the door, and everyone turned to see Rose standing there, a paper and a small package in her hand.

"Hi, Rose," Travis said. His voice got a bit higher when he saw her, and Scorpius and Al glanced at each other, smothering the instinct to laugh.

"Hey, Travis." Rose peered inside the room. "Could I have a word with Scorpius for a moment? In private?" The boys stared at Rose, and then at Scorpius. Nash gave him a mischievous smile, and Avery winked as they exited the room. Al just looked confused.

"What's up?" Scorpius asked as Rose closed the door behind her. She rushed to his side and held the paper out in front of him, so he could read her words.

_I show not your face, but your heart's desire. _

"Okay…?"

"The mirror," Rose explained. "It shows what you want most in the world." Scorpius took the paper from her hands and sunk down on the edge of his bed. Rose perched on his trunk. "You saw yourself as a Slytherin because that's who you want to be. You want to follow in your parent's footsteps." Scorpius turned the paper over in his hand, folded it up, and stuck it in his trunk.

"Thanks for figuring that out," he said to Rose. "I mean it. It bothered me."

"I noticed that you were distracted," she admitted. She sighed, and then handed him the parcel in her hand. "It's not much. But I thought maybe, it would make you feel a bit more…adapted."

Scorpius pulled from the wrapping a photograph. It was a small, framed photo, and it was slightly blurry. It had been taken at the second Quidditch Match of the Year. Rose and Albus stood on either side of Scorpius, and all three smiled brightly at the camera.

"I don't even remember taking this," Scorpius laughed. But all the same, he placed it on his nightstand.

"I think James took it," Rose said. "Well, I know he was with the person who did, because I had to get him to bully them into printing it for me. I know it's not much, and it's not an acceptance into Slytherin. But it's an acceptance here, in Gryffindor, with friends who love you dearly."

That, what Rose had just said, made Scorpius completely, utterly happy. He let those words sink in, and as they did, he realized that he wouldn't want to be placed anywhere other than Gryffindor. Because if he had, he wouldn't have met Rose or Albus. Rose seemed to see this in his face, and she hugged him tightly. Scorpius cleared his throat, but hugged her back.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked as Rose pulled away. Scorpius looked back at the picture of the three of them. "Why didn't you see yourself in the mirror? I mean, I know you did, but why didn't you see yourself as a Ravenclaw? That's where you wanted to be, right?"

"It was. At first." Rose smiled softly. Sunlight filtered through the window and caught the strands of her copper hair. "But when I met you, I realized I wasn't the only one who didn't want to be here. So…I let my dreams go. I cast them aside. I've never been happier, really. There isn't anything I could ask for that could make my life better right now."

"I feel like you're always saying things that make me feel stupid," Scorpius laughed.

"My wit is wasted," Rose giggled. "But you know you're better at potions, so we're even. Come on. I need to give Al his present. I bought him chocolate frogs, his favorite. I know if he doesn't eat soon, he'll have a heart attack."


	8. Chapter 8

Weeks passed, and the weeks turned to months. Finally, the months turned to a year, until it was the next September. Scorpius was a year older, and a year wiser. The same could be said for Rose and Albus, and the trio gained confidence in themselves. All three had absolutely aced their end of the term exams, except for Al, who failed miserably at History of Magic. However, he claimed not to mind, and confided in Scorpius that his father had hated the class as much as he did.

The summer between their first and second years seemed much longer than it truly was. Scorpius spent most of the days at home with his parents, lounging around, re-reading old school books and eagerly awaiting the days he would be reunited with Rose and Albus. Even on Holiday in the South of France, Scorpius longed to see his friends. The company of his parents was almost unbearable now, because, young as they were, their connection to Scorpius was simply maternal and paternal. Out of his holiday, Scorpius received magnificent sunburn that extended from the top of his blonde forehead all the way down to his toes. He was rather partial to the letters he had received from Rose, instead.

By September 1st, he had no more than fifty letters from Rose in his possession. Scorpius treated them all with extreme care, and treasured the rolls of parchment dearly. They were his only link to his friends over the summer, as Albus was far too lazy to write on his own, and Rose's family had chosen to vacation in Bora Bora for the summer. Occasionally, when Albus was joined in Rose's company over the summer, (for his parents had taken him to Bora Bora as well), he would write a small tidbit at the end of the letters. But overall, the letters Scorpius got were all in Rose's scripts, with her stories and puns and comments.

His favorite letter of hers was the shortest she had written, she only took one sheet of parchment, and had written in crimson red ink.

_Dear Scorpius,_

_It's July 6th here. I don't know exactly when you'll get this, so I thought I should include the date, so you know. It's Albus' birthday today. His first birthday present was from James, who thought it would be funny to present him with a gecko…but he placed it on Al's face when he was sleeping. Al didn't really appreciate that too much. _

_It's beautiful here, truly. I wake up early every morning so I can watch the sun rise. When it does, sometimes I think I see a flash of green over the water. To me, it's magical. _

_Sometimes I wonder if you ever wake up as early as I do. Sometime, try it. Watch the sun rise, I suggest sitting in a tall tree, or possibly, sit on your roof. Watch as it rises, and see if you can see the green flash of light that I do. _

_It makes me miss you a little less, thinking you see that light too._

_See you on the first,_

_Rose_

Scorpius had laughed at the imagery of Al waking up to a reptile on his face, and then, ever so gently, he folded up Rose's letter and put it under the false bottom in the upper drawer of his desk. He had stroked the plume of the vibrantly colored tropical bird that had delivered his letter with an air of extreme importance. He had released it back into the wilderness that waited, and watched as the greenery surrounding his house had swallowed the bird back up. The next day, he had done as Rose did. And for just a moment, (one of those where if you blinked you would miss it), he thought he might have glimpsed a pale green rising over the yellowed terrain that surrounded him everyday.

On September 1st, Scorpius awoke early, without the help of an alarm. The sun hadn't even had time to barge through his window and filter onto his face before he had awoken. Scorpius was awake so early, in fact, that he lay in bed for a while, listening to the sound of his house. It was almost alive, breathing and creaking ever so often. However, as he considered it, Scorpius realized he was probably exaggerating; his energy was speaking for him. That, or the portraits of his old family members were beginning to awake.

His mother, as per custom, had the house elves make Scorpius' favorite breakfast food, black pudding. But this morning, Scorpius was far too excited to eat. The aroma of the food in the dining room nearly caused his stomach to pitch.

"Mum, dad," Scorpius said, hesitating in the doorway, trying to avoid looking at the food, which was piping hot. The overwhelming stench of the fresh feast caused his stomach to flop unexpectedly inside him. "Really, do you need to eat? What is all of this, can't we just go to the station already?"

"Scorpius," Draco said in a warning tone, which was almost enough to shut him up at once. You see, Draco had never raised his voice to his son. Remarkably, Draco had grown into a mild-tempered adult, surprising, given his background. However, there were times where Draco would acquire a steely glint in his eye, his jaw would set, and his voice would lower to a slow, dangerous tone, like the one he had just used now. Usually, he used this when Scorpius had done something really, really, terrible. Sometimes he used it simply when he was stressed. At times, he had used it when he was feeling especially protective of Scorpius' mother. Draco glanced up at Celia, who was sitting next to him, delicately cutting sausage into small bits. "Don't rush your mother."

"It's alright, sweetheart." Celia placed a hand on Draco's forearm, and at once, he relaxed, softening at her touch. His jaw loosened, and he turned to Scorpius, his face readjusting to a friendlier sort of expression. "We can leave, I can always eat later." Celia pushed back her chair and threw her linen napkin down beside her plate. Her blonde hair swung over her shoulders as she crossed the room so she could squat down in front of her son, who remained to be far shorter than her, for the time being. "Excited for your second term, I see."

"Yes," Scorpius replied eagerly. "I can almost see the castle."

Celia glanced over her shoulder, at Draco, who smiled the slightest bit at her. Celia placed her hands on her son's shoulders and kissed him on the forehead. Scorpius didn't even attempt to squirm away; he knew it would only cause her to hold on more tightly.

"Go get your trunk," she instructed, and Scorpius ran up to his room, his heart racing with anticipation. Celia let out a small huff of laughter, and held a hand up to her mouth, as if to hold it inside, as if she could keep the joy within from escaping. Draco stood from his spot at the table and came to her side. Silently, they linked hands, Celia's wedding band and engagement ring glittering brightly amongst the crowded mass of alabaster skin that belonged to them both. "Do you remember when we were that excited for school?"

"Of course I do," Draco said. "Though I pretended to hate it at times."

"You never really did. I saw right through you."

"It wasn't anything without you, though."

"I think…correct me if I am wrong, our son seems to be mirroring your excitement for returning to school. Perhaps he harbors the feelings you did for Hogwarts, hmm? Or, maybe he is unaware, but there is someone, drawing him in?"

"Perhaps," Draco agreed, kissing his wife's temple. "I certainly hope so, for his sake."

At that moment, Scorpius reached at the bottom of the stairs, his trunk colliding with the railing with a tremendous crash to announce his arrival. His parents broke apart, and Draco helped his son load his school things into the car while Celia waited patiently in the front seat, watching her son's gleaming face in the rear view mirror.

When they reached Platform 9 ¾, Scorpius could hardly contain himself. He felt his legs shaking, as if they were urging him to take off at a run. He couldn't wait to see Rose and Albus. It had been too long, far too long since he had seen their faces in person, though Rose had sent him a photo of her, Al, and James in Bora Bora. Scorpius bid his parents goodbye, doing his best to console his mother as she began to get teary eyed, and then stepped on the train, walking down the hallways, peering in compartment after compartment, searching for his friends. It seemed, at a point, that they were all filled with chattering first years, nameless faces he could not recognize. Then, all at once, there was a screech that filled his ears. It was shrill, excited. It was the most beautiful screech Scorpius had heard.

He turned at the last moment. Rose had run at him at full speed, and enveloped him in a hug that nearly knocked him to the ground. He wheezed, his ribs aching as she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him around the neck too tightly.

"I missed you," she breathed in his ear, and then stepped back, beaming. She had grown an inch or two taller over the summer, and her eyes were nearly level with Scorpius' now. Her skin was extremely brown, and freckles littered her cheeks and forehead. Her hair had darkened too, and was plaited into a braid that hung down her back.

"You got taller." It was all Scorpius could manage to say, he was so happy to be back in her bright presence. Rose laughed and seized his arm, holding onto his elbow with a tight grip.

"Come on," she said, bossy and commanding as ever. It was wonderful to hear her voice again, even if she was controlling. "Al is waiting in a compartment. I hope you don't mind, but we aren't the only people in the compartment this year. Our younger siblings, remember I told you about them? Anyway, Lily and Hugo are being sorted this year, so they're waiting in the compartment too."

She pulled open a door at the end of the hallway, and Scorpius peered inside. Immediately, Al rose to give him a gruff hug and an embarrassed smile, accompanied by a pink-tinged glow in his ears.

"How was Bora Bora?" Scorpius asked him, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Warm," Albus said sullenly.

"Albus got stung by a jellyfish," Rose said in a sympathetic tone, but because Scorpius knew her so well, he could sense the laughter in her voice. "It wasn't his finest moment, he peed on his own foot."

"That's what you're supposed to do," Albus replied, and Scorpius let out a burst of laughter.

"Rose? Albus?" An unfamiliar voice came out of the corner of the compartment. Scorpius looked carelessly towards the corner, only to freeze. Sitting there was a pretty girl, prettier; he dared say, than many a girl at Hogwarts. She had brown eyes that seemed to have the texture of rich velvet, red hair that framed her pixie-shaped face, and features that were sharpened, yet, at the same time, feminine and delicate. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Yes," Scorpius breathed, looking to Rose, and raising his eyebrows in question. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Rose's eyebrows furrowed as she looked from Scorpius to her cousin, trying to decipher the sudden connection that had seemed to crop up between them.

"Scorpius, this is Lily Potter. Lily, Scorpius Malfoy."

"Potter," Scorpius repeated, holding out a hand for Lily to shake. She looked up at him, completely sure of herself, almost with a degree of arrogance, and slipped her small, smooth palm into his.

"Malfoy," she shot back, staring him down.

Rose stared at the pair of them, and immediately, her hands began to sweat. She didn't like the look of this meeting, she felt as if something was out of place. Albus, oblivious to it all, opened a chocolate frog, handed one to Hugo, and gestured for Rose to sit down. However, for the rest of the train ride, all Rose could focus on was the way Scorpius looked at Lily, like he was trying to figure her out, and he seemed determined to do so.


	9. Chapter 9

Scorpius could not see why anyone would ever dislike the Potters. Including his own father. However, he did admit that he was somewhat biased, given his friendship with Al…and the fact that he was completely and utterly taken with Lily Potter.

When she was sorted into Gryffindor, like Rose and Al and James all before her, Lily's face broke into a smile under the sorting hat. Her lips parted perfectly, like soft flower petals, and at that moment, Scorpius found himself clapping much more loudly than any of his other classmates. Albus didn't seem to take notice, but Rose did, of that Scorpius was sure. She stared at him with a deep, measuring gaze, and unless he was mistaken, she didn't clap that much for Lily after that.

So she was eleven and he was twelve, Scorpius mused as he tucked into bed that evening. Soon, they would both be older. And, he hoped, like his mother and father, they could become great friends, and possibly more. Scorpius slid into bed with a smile on his face, thinking of his parent's love story. Could he hope for the same? Was Lily his love story? He thought of her flaming red hair and deep brown eyes and tossed and turned onto his side, too jumped up to relax.

"What are you doing?" Al questioned, perched on his own bed. His eyes were narrowed as he stared at Scorpius.

"Nothing," Scorpius immediately said, growing red in the face and hot in the neck. He flipped over onto his back, smoothed his hair, and crossed his hands and laid them neatly on his chest. Soon, the rest of the room had fallen asleep, and Scorpius was surprised how a summer away from them all hadn't made him forget the sound of Nash's snores and the occasional mumbling that sounded from Travis. Scorpius pulled the covers aside, smoothed back his hair once more, and snuck past Al's bed and crept out of the room.

Like the year previous, Rose was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, just as he had suspected. It didn't seem to matter to her that it was past midnight, closer to one. She was sitting at one of the round tables, a quill in hand as she worked on an unknown assignment. Her hand flew furiously back and forth, producing words at what seemed like the speed of light. Her tongue protruded slightly over her bottom lip, caught in between her teeth and her red hair was twisted up into a messy knot at the back of her head. Wild tendrils hung down around her face and she brushed them away with impatience.

"What're you doing?" Scorpius asked, hopping down the last stair and sitting down beside her. Rose looked up at him, solemn, and a shadow of annoyance crossed her face.

"Schoolwork," she replied tersely.

"Rose," Scorpius said gently, a smirk spreading across his face. "We haven't even had classes yet."

Rose drew herself up and squared her shoulders. "I need to be prepared."

Scorpius watched as she continued to write. It appeared she was copying down spells and potions, and as he continued to watch her write, her handwriting grew more careless and slanted. He frowned. It was unlike Rose to write things like this down. She hardly had to practice anything without immediately grasping it; she had no use for things like this.

"Are you feeling alright?" Scorpius questioned. "Feeling cautious? Perhaps threatened?"

Rose's head snapped up at that, and her eyes burned. "Why would you say that?" Scorpius leaned back in his chair, alarmed by her sudden intensity.

"Because you're working on things we haven't even studied yet. Besides, the Rose Weasley I know doesn't need to work on this because she's brilliant already and basically masters anything just by looking at it." Rose looked down at her lap, and Scorpius saw her shoulder shudder. He hoped he had gotten her to laugh, or even smile, but when she looked up, her face was blank and serious.

"Don't," was all she said.

"Sorry?"

"Don't try to hand out compliments, I know you don't mean it."

"Of course I mean it, Rose! How could I not? Everyone knows you're brilliant."

"Oh I'm brilliant?" Her voice had risen to shouting level now, and she sprung from her chair, her hair flashing like a shooting star. Scorpius rose from his chair too, knocking it aside as he did so. Now that they stood at eye level, he could see how angry her eyes were. He scowled. "YOU THINK I'M BRILLIANT? Oh well that's great and dandy and fine, Scorpius. Geez, so thoughtful and generous of you to say. Because that's such an original compliment for someone who was your best friend all last year."

"What are you going on about?" Scorpius yelled back. "Would you like me to flip through a thesaurus for you? Would that be better, Professor Weasley? Good god, Rose! And what is all this past tense _was _bollocks you're spouting off about?"

Rose suddenly closed her mouth and Scorpius thought she might cry. He reached out a hand towards her, slowly, gently, but she flinched away as if he had slapped her.

"Leave me alone, Scorpius." Rose gathered her books and ran up the girl's staircase, leaving nothing but tension and anger behind.

"Fine!" He shouted, letting his hot temper get the better of him. "You can bet I will." Scorpius rubbed his eyes and glanced back at the table where Rose had been working. His heart thudded unnaturally in his chest.

"Scorpius?" He looked up towards the mezzanine and saw Albus grasping onto the railing, blinking blearily. "Were you yelling? What's going on?"

Scorpius blinked back and began to walk away from Rose's table. "I have no idea," he said.

Quidditch Tryouts just happened to be the next day. Scorpius saw Rose come into the Great Hall in the morning, her eyes red and puffy and her hair wavy, and she did not sit with or speak to either him or Al. Scorpius glanced down at his own plate and felt as if he could vomit from both guilt and fear. Propped up next to him was his riding broom he had brought from home. He had tried to polish it the evening before, in preparation for the trials, but he was so distracted by his fight with Rose that he had nearly broken the fragile broom right in half.

"Good luck, mate." Albus sat glumly across from him, shoving bacon into his face and eyeing Scorpius's broom. "James says he's going to put in the good word for you with the captain."

"I don't think I'll make it," Scorpius admitted. "I haven't had much practice. I've played mostly by myself."

Down the table, he heard a small cough, and he looked up to see that Rose was looking at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.

"I think you'll make it," another voice said. Lily took the seat next to Scorpius, and he found himself quaking and gaping at her as she did so. She nodded to Albus. "Our mum played Quidditch for a few years, Professionally. I can kind of tell what builds will and won't make it in the Quidditch pitch."

"Oh yeah? Is that a gift?" Scorpius heard himself say. Lily simply laughed and placed some sausages on her plate. Albus was still immersed in his food. Scorpius glanced up towards where Rose had been sitting again, but she was gone. He felt a cloak whirl by him, and there she was, briskly striding out of the Great Hall, her red head bowed. Scorpius clenched his fork tightly. He wished she had wished him good luck.

The trials began easily enough. It was basic things at first, flying around the pitch to test speed and balance, dodging bludgers, things like that. Scorpius found, to his delight, that he preformed each task effortlessly and with ease, bouncing from one to another fluidly. As he performed his take on a Wronski Feint, James, the seeker of the team, flew by and gave him a deliberate wink.

"Alright!" The captain of the team, Jade Vince, a sixth year, called everyone to the center of the field. She was tall and broad in the shoulders, with a round face and dark skin the color of chocolate. Her eyes were exceptionally beautiful, a pure silver, but when she became concentrated, they were frightening and commanding, like they were now. "Listen up you lot. We have three positions open on this team. Three. Not four, not two. Three. A chaser, a beater, and a keeper. You understand?" She waited for the mass of nervous players to nod. "Good. At least I'll have some functional human beings on this team this year."

"Don't be so harsh, Jay," James teased, and she shot him a withering glance that made Scorpius want to blend into his surroundings.

"I'm going to assign you to play a mock game of Quidditch. If I call your name, we're considering you for the team already, and this is further assessment of your skills. If I don't call your name, please leave. I…just get out, clear?" She cleared her throat and began to call out names with the ferocity of a dictator. "Hawkings, Purcell, Abernathy, Greenblatt, Malfoy, and Sunil, please stay. Everyone else, you can go."

Scorpius let out a sigh of relief and found himself to be grinning. He bobbed happily on his broom. James zoomed up next to him and whispered urgently in his ear.

"Show of your chaser skills," he told him. "You have the best aim, it will serve you well."

And show off his skills he did. Scorpius darted across the field, back and forth, snatching and catching and throwing the quaffle over and over again. He scored one, two, three…eight goals by the end of the match, drawing himself a personal best of eighty points, much better than another potential chaser, Anne Hawkings, who seemed incapable of throwing the quaffle through the two outside hoops.

"Well done, everyone," Jade said as the match came to an end. Scorpius's chest was heaving, but he wore a smile, whereas his other potential teammates sported bloody noses or mud-stained uniforms. "I'll let you all know my decisions soon. For the mean time, please feel free to shower in the dressing rooms below, but vacate the field, the Slytherin team has to hold their tryouts." Jade raised a hand and waved to the Slytherin captain, who nodded politely in reply. Scorpius squinted down at the Slytherin players and saw the pug-faced girl who had been so rude to him his first year, as well as her tall friend who looked as threatening as ever.

Scorpius pointed his broom towards the ground and landed softly on his feet, and James touched down next to him.

"You did really well out there," James told him as they began to walk towards the showers. "I have no doubt that Jade will accept you onto the team tonight."

"Really?" Scorpius could hardly contain his excitement. He was seized with a sudden urge to hug James, but knew that James would probably club him, if he did.

"Yeah. Obviously you're not just chucking things around out there. You have skill." James cocked his head as a whistling sound could be heard overhead. Scorpius heard it to, but spoke over it.

"It's probably my dad's genes!" He bellowed over the noise. "He was a seeker!"

"Yeah, I-" James began to say. He turned to look at something over Scorpius's shoulder, and his eyes widened. "Look out!" He grabbed Scorpius, as if to pull him out of harm's way, but it was too late. Scorpius felt something large and heavy hit him square in the back of his head.

Immediately, his eyesight grew faint. He could hear shouts in the back, shouts of outrage and worry. He thought he might have heard a faint, shrill scream that sounded like Rose. And then, everything was quiet.

**A/N: Please Remember to Review! Thank You!**


	10. Chapter 10

When Scorpius woke up, he was laying in a bed. It was warm and comfortable, and as his eyes opened, he saw golden light filling the room he was in. He stirred a little and rubbed his eyes, which were exceptionally sore.

"Scorpius," a soft voice breathed. He blinked and glanced to his side. Sitting next to him, drawn and pale and terrified looking was Rose. She leaned forward on the edge of her chair and smiled at him, though her lips shook and her eyes were large and wild. "How are you feeling?" Her voice was barely more than a squeak. "I saw you fall, I came here immediately."

"It's my head," Scorpius replied, reaching for the back of his skull, which throbbed painfully. "What happened?"

"That awful Slytherin girl got her friend to shoot you a bludger to the back of your head. Nasty, cheap shot. You were walking away, I swear I almost…" Rose trailed off and shook her head. There was a scuffle of feet, and suddenly, Albus appeared at the end of Scorpius's bed.

"Hey mate," he greeted him, his hair mussed. "I just heard, I came here as soon as I could. Some Slytherin, huh?"

"Her surname is Arikson," Scorpius said. "But Zabini's the one who did it, I'm sure of that. He was the one I insulted last year."

"I wouldn't worry about them now." Rose's jaw trembled and she threw her arms around Scorpius's neck. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I feel so awful now."

"Oh hush," Madam Promfrey said, bustling around the side of the curtain, a stern expression on her face. "Please Miss Weasley, this is not the place for hysterics. Mr. Malfoy only has a small crack in his skull, it's easily fixed. I have a slew of patients with horrible dragon pox trying to sleep." She went to Scorpius's bedside and poured him a small glass of something purple that frothed and smoked when he raised it to his lips. "It's for the pain," she assured him as Scorpius raised his eyebrows. He downed it; it tasted of milk and honey.

Rose leaned back in her chair and tried to smooth her hair, which was growing thicker with frizz by the minute.

"I'm glad you guys came," Scorpius blurted, staring at his friends. Even with a crack in his skull, it was good to know he had some sort of support at school, even if his parents weren't there. Rose blushed, apparently still abashed about her previous behavior. Albus simply sat down and pulled a chocolate frog from his pocket. He began to bite into it, but upon seeing Scorpius and Rose staring at him, he pulled another one from his pocket and offered it to Scorpius.

"You're like my dad," Rose laughed. "You never stop eating." Albus mumbled something in reply, and Scorpius smiled as he began to nibble away at the chocolate. Scorpius looked around and realized that he had none of his personal effects with him.

"Rose?" He asked. "When you came here, did you see if any of my stuff was here?"

"No." She frowned and patted Scorpius's arm. "Let me go check with Madam Promfrey." She hurried away, and Scorpius sat up, holding his head, which was beginning to feel airheaded, thanks to Madam Promfrey's potion.

"I'm going to kill that kid," he muttered, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"I think someone might have gotten there first," Albus said quietly.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that when you were wheeled in here, Rose went ballistic. Zabini's a few beds down, completely exhausted after having his body pummeled by her fists…as well as a bunch of spells."

Scorpius was quiet for a moment. "She did that? Why?"

Albus scoffed. "Because she's your best friend you twat. But don't mention it to her, she's embarrassed by it. Professor McGonagall caught her at it and told her she was going to write to her parents."

"Is she going to get in trouble?"

Albus winked. "Something tells me her father won't be too angry with her…it's her mother I'd worry about."

Scorpius gnawed on his lip as Albus got up to find himself a tissue. Rose came back to him, his gear bundled up in her arms, and assured him that Madam Promfrey had his firebolt back in her office and would give it to him as soon as he was ready to leave.

"I'm ready." Scorpius jumped from the bed, but his head spun a little, and he grabbed onto Rose's arm for support. She almost toppled over, and dropped all his belongings in order to grasp him for support to. They stood there for a moment, holding on to each other, trying not to fall, their hands grasping at one another. Rose looked up at Scorpius, her eyes wide, and he could see her lips part a little. She smiled.

"Hey," Scorpius heard himself whisper. His heart beat rapidly, all of a sudden. He looked down at her hands, which he had grabbed in his effort to stay balanced. They were small and slim and delicate, though splattered with ink. Scorpius saw blue bruises on her knuckles and smiled.

"Hi," Rose said with a giggle, and he met her eyes again.

"Guys?" Scorpius dropped Rose's hands as if they had been made of fire and scorched his hands. Albus was standing at the end of Scorpius's hospital bed, watching them with a bemused expression on his face. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Rose and Scorpius said in unison. Scorpius grabbed his clothes up in his arms and headed around the corner, seeking out the loo, so he could change. He heard Albus begin to question Rose, trying to weasel answers out of her, but she gave him a short answer, her voice clipped and cold, though, admittedly, she stumbled over a few words.

Scorpius found that getting injured in a squabble of some kind made you a hero. At least, it did in Gryffindor. Even if the squabble had been fiercely no skin-to-skin contact, it was the principal of the matter. As soon as he walked into the common room, dressed in the robes he had been wearing that morning, a swarm of people approached him, babbling and asking him questions. And it didn't seem to matter that, technically, had the incident been a fight, Scorpius would have lost. People seemed to want to hear his story so they could take pity on him, and then relish in the fact that Slytherins were sore people who were desperate and all rotten to the core.

Given that both his parents were in Slytherin and he himself had once pined to be part of the Slytherin house, Scorpius refused to blame his injury on the Slytherin team. He did, however, tell everyone exactly who had done it. He figured that maybe a few more well placed curses might teach Zabini the lesson he deserved.

It got rather tiresome, after a few minutes or so, people coming up to him and asking him things like:

_Did you bleed?_

_I heard you fell off your broom._

_Can you still play?_

_I reckon those Slytherins are pissed you're not in their house._

It was almost all Scorpius could take until finally, the Quidditch captain, Jade, found Scorpius and pulled him away from a nervous boy with a tic who kept asking if Scorpius had decided how to exact revenge on Zabini yet.

"Malfoy," she said solemnly, glaring at a ground of giggling third year girls trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. "Are you feeling alright? You're not going to tell me you can't play, can you?"

"I'm fine," Scorpius told her. "Really, I can play."

"Ace. It would be a pity to try to seek out a new chaser, seeing as I just put your name on the robes and everything."

"Really?" Scorpius breathed, a smile spreading out over his face. "You mean it?"

"Do I look like the type of person to jerk you around?" Jade's face was unsmiling. "Practice tomorrow at 6 am. Meet on the pitch." She wheeled around and marched up the stairs to her dormitory, pushing through the third-year girls who had bothered her so much.

"Did I just hear that right?" Scorpius turned around to see Lily Potter standing behind him with a tentative smile on her face. "My brother said you were doing alright…but I can see you're doing better than that."

"Fantastic, actually." Scorpius smiled at her sloppily, so entranced by her beauty he could have fallen all over himself.

"Well, I'm glad for you. You can bet I'll be cheering you on when I'm in the stands." Lily smiled, hugged a book to her chest, and walked around him, headed up to the dormitory after Jade. Scorpius watched her go, the smile still on his face. He didn't seem to notice when Rose followed Lily a few moments later, tears streaming down her face.


	11. Chapter 11

"I like a boy." The year had flown by again, another year at Hogwarts almost gone. And Rose remained as direct as ever. She and Scorpius sat in the Gryffindor common room one of the evenings before their final exams, pooling notes while Albus napped in his chair. Rose glanced at Scorpius and tickled his ear with the end of her quill when he didn't immediately reply. "Did you hear me?"

"Processing," Scorpius murmured, staring down at his paper. He set his quill into the ink well and then glanced at the common room clock. It was nearly midnight, and the room was beginning to empty out, except for a few hysterical OWL students crowded into a corner. "Who?"

Rose, self conscious over the other half-inch she had grown since September, hunched over the table.

"You don't know him."

"Well aren't you going to tell me?" Scorpius asked, slightly affronted. He was so tired from studying that his eyelids were beginning to drop. Rose blushed a deep pink.

"Maybe," she countered, putting her face in her hands and peeking at Scorpius through her fingers. She stared directly at him, her pupils widening before she blinked. "It's embarrassing, Scorpius. How come you never talk about this with me?"

"I don't like anyone," Scorpius said instinctively. He spoke too quickly, as the thought of Lily Potter floated to the front of his mind. Rose stared at him for a long moment in which she remained stubbornly quiet, as if waiting for him to assure her that he was lying, he did like someone. Scorpius remained just as quiet.

"Could you tell me something?" She asked finally.

"What?"

"Do you think boys like me?"

"How do you mean?" Scorpius rubbed his eyes, yawning.

"Forget it," Rose said, staring up at the clock.

"I mean I know that Travis is basically in love with you, Rosie," Scorpius laughed lightly, beginning to stack his notes into chronological order. "Is that who you like? Rose and Travis sitting in a tree…"

"Oh shut up," Rose commanded, rolling her eyes. "I didn't mean it like that." Before Scorpius could ask her anything further, she rapped on the table and opened another set of books. "Do you want to quiz me first, or should I quiz you?"

"Aren't you going to tell me who you like?"

"Oh, no," Rose said, squirming in her seat. "It's not important right now."

In the corner, Albus let out a tremendous snore that caused the anxious fifth years to vacate the common room entirely. After only twenty minutes of shooting back and forth test questions, Scorpius dozed off, his forehead falling into the cracked spine of his Transfiguration textbook. Rose watched him sleep for a moment before she gathered up her books and blew out the candle on the table. Before she ran up the staircase, the blush still staining her cheeks, she leaned down to whisper in Scorpius' ear as he fell into dreamland:

"I like you, Scorpius."

It became difficult, for Scorpius to forget what Rose had asked him over the summer. In fact, it had bothered him so badly during his transfiguration exam that he had nearly forgotten to fill out an entire page of the test. _Do boys like me? _It had been most unlike Rose to broach such a question—Scorpius had hardly met a person who seemed so sure of themselves. He knew, of course, this wasn't always the case, but it had still thrown him off guard.

Rose was pretty, in his opinion. She had lustrous hair and cute freckles, and Scorpius liked her smile, which was a little goofy and wide. She had a nice laugh, and was smart and fiercely protective. He didn't understand, exactly, what it was that someone wouldn't like about Rose. He felt a surge of anger at the mysterious target of Rose's affections, the idiot who apparently didn't recognize her spectacular qualities.

The thought did not leave his mind in mid-July, when he had received permission from his parents to visit Albus and Rose for a week. Their families were vacationing in the Potter's summer home, which turned out to be more of a mansion, in Italy. It was a beautiful villa set into crumbling stonewalls of the Almafi Coast. On the day Scorpius' mother brought him to the villa (his father had sheepishly stayed behind, at home), Scorpius and Albus had pounced on him, each deeply sunburnt.

"I am so happy you can stay for the whole week," Rose exclaimed, hastening to show him the different kinds of flora she had collected over the holiday. Albus tugged him in the opposite direction, to show him the brooms they were allowed to use at night, under restricted usage. Scorpius' mother chatted with the other two women who had appeared jovially at the doorway of the villa.

"I really am so grateful that you're letting Scorpius stay for the whole week," Celia was saying to Ginny Potter. "If he's any trouble at all, you're to tell me right away. I can be here in an instant." Ginny and Hermione both burst out laughing.

"Nothing we can't handle," Hermione assured her.

"Besides, Scorpius is such a sweet boy," Ginny said. "Albus and Lily are always saying how kind he is."

"It's true," Celia said, watching as her son and Rose bending over the balcony of the villa, looking down into the water below. "He's very kind-hearted." She approached her son to kiss him goodbye, but paused and lingered behind a curtain of sweet-smelling flowers when she heard him speaking with Rose.

"—And there, there's a place Al and James and I go swimming. Hugo and Lily can't swim well enough, because it's too deep. You can swim well, can't you? I think I saw a shark the other day!"

"I was thinking of what you said before school ended the other day." Celia was surprised by the tone of her son's voice, it was on the cusp of changing, and had the tone of constantly being about to break.

"What did I say?" Rose asked. "Oh, and Scorpius, I forgot, Harry makes banana and pineapple treats, muggles call them smoothies, and they are so amazing. I can't wait for you to try one, I really am so excited you're here."

"Me too," Scorpius said, beginning to draw on the edge of impatience. "But Rose, let me say this, okay?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." Celia saw, through the flowers, Rose smile at her son, her smile genuine and wide. Her smile was the perfect combination of her parents.

"You asked me if boys like you, remember that?"

"Oh, gosh." Rose blushed furiously. "I was just tired I think…"

"We're thirteen now," Scorpius said in an exceedingly mature tone that made his mother crack a smile. He sounded as if he were about to announce his move into his own apartment and start a new job. "And I just…if you go with a boy-"

"Oh my god, Scorpius, can we just go swimming?"

"Just hang on." Scorpius ducked his white-blonde head, aiming to capture Rose's eye line. "If you ever meet a bloke who immediately cannot tell you why he likes you, can you come tell me?"

"Why would I tell you that?" Rose queried.

"So I could tell him all the reasons he _should _like you, and then hex him a couple times."

Rose snorted, then giggled, and then butted Scorpius' shoulder with her forehead. Scorpius returned the shoulder-butt. Albus emerged from the house, clutching smoothies in hand, slopping them over himself. Rose tore away to help Albus clean up, and Scorpius tucked his hands into his pockets. Celia smiled and stole away, slipping through the heat to apparate home.


	12. Chapter 12

The third year at Hogwarts marked the entrance into adulthood. At least, this was according to James, as he explained on the train to school. He was now fourteen, superior in all aspects to his siblings and younger cousins, and told this to Al and Scorpius with a smug smile. Thirteen, James told them, marks independence. It means going to Hogsmeade, it means new classes, and it means _girls_. Albus had laughed at that last part and asked James how all of his girlfriends were doing. James became flustered (no doubt, offended by the implication that he did not have a girlfriend at all), and left the compartment for ten minutes.

The third date that the third years were allowed to enter Hogsmeade was Scorpius' birthday, October 25. He awoke that morning to a rather loud crashing noise emitting in his dorm, and found that Al had gotten him a fanged Frisbee for his birthday. The Frisbee had sped out from under Al's bed, ripped through the packaging, and torn around the room, ripping bedspreads, sheets, and curtains. Eventually, Al had to jump on the Frisbee and pin it to the ground and Scorpius cursed it to dust. Al, sheepishly, promised to buy him a gift in Hogsmeade.

Socrpius, Al, and Rose began the walk to the village just following noon. The day was brisk and chilly, but fiercely sunny. The trees were turning a magnificent red and gold, and all the students were red-cheeked and cherry.

"Where do you want to go first?" Rose asked, when they came upon the village. She gasped and held a hand to her chest when she saw the stationary store. "I've been dying to get a new quill and parchment. But…it's your birthday Scorpius. Oh, I'm terrible. Let's go wherever you want."

"Make you a deal," Scorpius said. "If we go get a butterbeer, we can go to the stationary store after. But I'm limiting you to five minutes, because if I don't then I know we'll spend at least an hour in there…"

"Make it three minutes," Al bartered.

"Fine," Rose trilled, flouncing ahead yanking open the door to The Three Broomsticks. She shook her head as they entered, trying to find a free table. "You know, I never understood why my mum told me to stay away from the Hogs Head."

"Dad says it's filthy."

"Mum said the same thing. She said there's a lot of trouble stirred up in that place, but it always looks empty to me."

Someone shouted from across the room. Among the folds of people, Avery, Travis and Nash sat at a table with two other girls from their year. One was Summer Gainsworth, a Ravenclaw with silvery hair that made her look half-veela. The other was Clementine Bonston, a quiet Gryffindor who sometimes sat with Rose in Potions. Nash beckoned them over and pointed to a few empty chairs clustered around the table.

"Sit with us," he demanded in his charismatic, irrefutable manner. Travis blushed and waved at Rose. Al collapsed into a chair and grabbed a handful of chips.

"I'll get us drinks, then," Scorpius said, shrugging off his jacket and tossing it onto the chair beside Al. "Butterbeer, Al?"

"Fizzy Orange Juice. Thanks, mate."

"I'll come with you," Rose volunteered. She unknotted her Gryffindor scarf and delicately folded it over the back of the third chair. She smiled at Summer and Clementine, and then followed Scorpius to the bar. "Someone has to help you carry the drinks."

"What do you want?" Scorpius asked, digging a handful of sickles out of his pocket.

"It's your birthday, you can't possibly pay," Rose protested. She lightly pushed his hands into his chest, and removed a small money bag from around her neck. She plucked out some coins of her own. "My mum says that it's rude to let people pay on their birthday."

"I've never heard that custom. But then again, I've only celebrated my birthday with you and Al for two years."

"Three now," Rose corrected. "I think it's a muggle custom. Like balloons."

"What are balloons?" Scorpius began, but the barmaid interrupted him. Once they had gotten their drinks, (a butterbeer for Scorpius, Fizzy Orange for Al, and Lemon Squash for Rose), they returned to the table. Al was laughing uproariously at something Avery was gesturing wildly, and both Summer and Clementine looked mildly offended.

"Al says it's your birthday, Scorpius," Nash addressed him once Scorpius had taken a seat. Scorpius nodded and then blushed as the table let out a round of 'happy birthday' greetings, and Al slapped him on the back, none too gently. "How are you celebrating?"

"I am right now," Scorpius said, raising the butterbeer in the air.

"No, no. Come on, what are you really doing?" Al and Rose exchanged glances, clearly worried that they had failed in their duty as friends, to provide enough excitement for Scorpius' thirteenth.

"I might play Quidditch later," Scorpius said lamely. He hadn't planned on it, he hadn't planned on doing almost anything for his birthday. Nash groaned.

"How about a game of truth or dare?" He asked.

"What is that?" Al asked.

"It's a muggle game," Rose said excitedly. "Mum told me about it, though she seemed rather reluctant to explain the rules."

"I'm muggle born," Nash explained. "I've been playing this game since I was a kid."

"Me too," Clementine spoke up. "Well, I've been playing it since I went to muggle school, anyway. I was never much use at sports."

"How do you play?" Scorpius asked, taking a sip of his butterbeer.

"We go in a circle. We ask each person to choose between a truth or a dare. You choose one. If you choose a truth, you have to answer any question I ask, and you can't lie. It's cheating. If you choose a dare, you have to do any prank or dare that I come up with. How about we start with you, since it's your birthday?"

Scorpius squirmed as he felt the eyes of the table land on him. "Alright." He glanced at Rose, who raised her eyebrows and shrugged, as if to say: _you're on your own, pal. _

"Er…truth, I guess."

"Tell us who you like," Nash responded, a juvenile smile spreading across his face. "It has to be her full name, don't think you can get away with initials."

"I don't," Scorpius said immediately, shaking his head. "I don't like anyone right now."

"Liar!" Avery crowed.

"He doesn't," Al protested, sticking up for him. "He would have told me."

"And me," Rose added.

Scorpius tried not to think of Lily Potter and her beautiful eyes and hair. He took another sip of his butterbeer.

"Fine," Nash conceded. "You go, Scorpius."

"Er…Al. Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Al said lazily, polishing off his drink with a burp.

"I…I dare you to walk over to that table and ask them for a handful of their chips."

"Fine," Al said, biting down on his lip. The table began to giggle as he strode away. Al returned a few moments later, his cheeks bulging with the borrowed chips. The other table watched him with slight worry—the older students were clearly concerned about his mental wellbeing. Al bowed before taking his seat, and then swallowed his chips. In turn, he dared Avery to cast a hex of the bogies on himself. Once Avery had managed to reverse the spell, sniffling and rubbing his nose on the sleeve of his sweater, he turned to Travis.

"Truth or dare, Travis?"

"Dare, I suppose."

"I dare you to kiss a girl at this table." Immediately, all eyes flickered over to Rose, who blushed furiously. She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it, looking up at Scorpius with wide, helpless eyes. Travis leaned across the table rather eagerly, and Scorpius felt something in the pit of his stomach twist. He didn't want to see Travis kiss Rose. He didn't _dislike _Travis, necessarily, but in that moment, he was furious with him. Rose kicked Scorpius in the ankle as she leaned back in her chair, gripping the arms with both hands. And then, in an instant, Scorpius heard a whisper before Rose jumped to her feet, looking green. She clasped her hands over her mouth and pushed her way towards the loo. She never quite made it—she vomited right outside the bathroom door. Travis sighed and sunk back in his chair.

"Happy Birthday," Al said sarcastically and slapped Scorpius on the arm as Rose threw up once more.


	13. Chapter 13

Scorpius hated Divination. He had signed up for it last minute, in lieu of taking Ancient Runes. It had been between Divination and Ancient Runes, and when it came down to it, he knew which class would result in better marks. Rose had signed up for both. The third-year class was taught by Professor Trelawney, who had the odd habit of swooping around in odd-smelling cloaks and making odd predictions while batting her eyes wildly from behind her thick-rimmed glasses. Al and Rose had both groaned upon hearing she would be teaching their class instead of the centaur—their parents had all hated Professor Trelawney. When Scorpius asked his father about taking Divination with Professor Trelawney (his mother had never taken it, she thought the subject to be ridiculous), his father simply replied that he never knew if Trelawney was a good teacher because he had skipped most of his classes.

The worst part about Divination was the climb to the tower. The classroom was located in one of the tallest towers in the school, and the winding staircase made Scorpius nearly sick every time he had to climb it. Al was there with him, wheezing along, while Rose took the stairs two at a time, her curly red hair lighting up their path. The whole time she babbled on about their 'Dreamscapes' and 'Tea Readings,' never missing a beat.

"Good afternoon," Professor Trelawney greeted them one December afternoon. They had class paired with the Ravenclaws today, and Summer Gainsworth joined their table, pulling up a seat next to Rose. Al was hunched over the homework he had neglected to finish, sketching out an aura chart that predicted his moods for the next week. Professor Trelawney shrewdly snatched it away before he could finish and moved on to the rest of the class. "Today we will be doing Palm Readings. Over half of you finished the reading, as I predicted, and will be aware of how to read your partner's lines. Get in touch with your inner eye!"

"I hate when she says that," Scorpius mumbled, and Rose turned to him.

"I did the reading," she said promptly, taking his hand and flipping it over. "Did you?"

"I did half," Scorpius said fairly. "I skimmed. I had Quidditch Practice last night, and Jade is relentless. Now that she's in her seventh year-"

"Keep talking about Quidditch in my class, Mr. Malfoy, and I predict you will be serving detention Friday afternoon," Trelawney snapped.

Rose ran a finger over the lines on Scorpius' left hand and frowned, turning to look at her textbook.

"Your lines are very faint," she said knowledgeably. "I think you have a blood deficiency."

"Rose, I'm just pale. Not all of us can tan as easily as you do."

"Well, alright. Look, here's your headline. It's broken. So that means…you'll experience an emotional crisis and you have a lot of inconsistencies in your thinking pattern."

"It's all cheery in the tower today, isn't it?"

"It's not all bad." Next to them, Summer was informing Al that he had a short attention span. Al began to question her, before an owl that landed outside the classroom distracted him. "Look here. Your lifeline is long and curvy, without any breaks. You'll have a long life, and you're full of energy. Professor Trelawney? I have a question. The textbook says that a curved line could either indicate strength or energy…so how do we know which it is?"

"Get in touch with your inner eye," came Professor Trelawney's answer as she circled the classroom. Rose rolled her eyes.

"We can move on to your fate line, then." Rose touched Scorpius' palm with her pinkie finger, and then shoved her nose close to his palm so she could see better. "Not surprising at all."

"Can you stop being an expert?" Scorpius teased. "I mean seriously, how am I supposed to live after you've told me all there is to know? What's the point?" Rose ignored him.

"This line, this center one, crosses the life line. The book says that you have a strong support system. That means family and friends are heavily involved."

"Clearly," Scorpius smiled, gently bumping his palm into her nose. Rose wrinkled her nose at him and looked back at the textbook. "Come on, Rose. Get to the Love line, that's the one everyone's curious about."

"Not me," Al interrupted, frowning. "James told me that none of this matters, anyway. He read my palm after his third year and told me my love line indicates a lot of divorce."

"No," Summer corrected, shaking her silver head. "No, I think your brother was messing about with you. Your love line indicates a very strong, singular love."

Rose rolled her eyes yet again.

"Okay, Scorpius. Let's see it, then." She narrowed her eyes at his palm. She yanked on his arm and twisted his wrist, trying to get a better angle to view the line.

"Ow, Rose. That arm is attached."

"Sorry," she said, but didn't sound it. "Your line is about half as long as it should be. That means you fall in love easily. It's straight, which means you don't talk about your emotions all that easily. And it's broken, meaning you'll fall in love with the wrong person."

"The cherry on top," Scorpius mumbled, trying to read his own palm. Rose got up suddenly and crossed the classroom with her book in hand. She cornered Professor Trelawney and began jabbing her finger against the page, her face beginning to burn with the look of intellectual curiosity she got whenever she found an error in a textbook.

That night, Scorpius sat in the Gryffindor common room after Quidditch Practice, filling out his Divination homework. He had to draw his palm lines, describe his lines, predict the ways in which they would determine his life course, and then predict what the length of his fingers meant in the grand scope of things.

Al and Rose sat with him, finishing up the rest of their homework. The rest of the common room was rather quiet; many of the students had left early for winter holiday. James was still around, but he had gone off with the pretty girl in his entourage that Al and Scorpius strongly suspected to be his girlfriend.

"What are you working on, Rose?" Al asked, looking up from his Divination. Scorpius snuck a glance at his paper and saw that Al predicted that his strong fate line meant that he shouldn't be too ambitious, since fate would carry him through life anyway. Scorpius resisted smiling. "You're writing far too much for Divination."

"I'm working on Muggle Studies," Rose replied swiftly, blowing on a piece of parchment and setting it aside. "We have a paper due on the Muggle Education system due before we leave, and I just cannot cut it down."

"Cut it down?" Scorpius asked incredulously, looking at the stack of parchment next to her. "You're writing more than you're supposed to?"

"There's just a lot of information," Rose protested, her face turning red.

The common room portrait swung open, and James and his girlfriend had returned, their heads bowed as they giggled together. Lily followed them solemnly, holding a stack of books to her chest.

"Hi Lily," Scorpius said immediately. Perhaps he was a bit too eager, as Rose and Al both stared at him. But Lily smiled and approached their table.

"Hi, you guys." She glanced nervously at their work. "Third year work looks like a lot."

"Not more than we can handle," Rose said.

"What are you doing, Scorpius?" Lily asked, examining his chart. "Is that palm reading?"

"Yes. Yeah. I mean…I don't know if I believe in it or anything." Scorpius smoothed back his hair.

"You didn't seem that way in class," Rose said immediately. "You were pretty concerned over your love line, right? You seemed concerned."

"You were a bit concerned, mate," Albus agreed.

"I think it's cool," Lily piped up, shaking back her hair.

"Yeah?"

"Isn't everyone curious about how their life will be? It would be cool to figure it out just by looking at your hands…"

"It's not that simple," Rose protested, her voice going up an octave. "The lines aren't always entirely indicative. They can change, you know."

Everyone turned to stare at her, even James and his girlfriend, who appeared to be in the middle of snogging by the common room entrance. Rose blushed furiously.

"That's what I've read," she said weakly, closing her textbooks and beginning to stack them. "But I'm tired. I should go to bed."

"I'll walk with you," Lily volunteered. She leaned down to hug Albus quickly, much to his annoyance, and then smiled at Scorpius, her lips turning upwards like the petals of a flower opening to sunlight. He resisted the urge to smile back, because he was sure that if he did, his mouth would fall open idiotically.

"Good night, Scorpius," both Lily and Rose said at the same time. 

"'Night," he replied, turning to watch as they both headed up the staircase.

"Rude," Al said, frowning. "You see that? Rose didn't say good night to me."

"Yeah," Scorpius said faintly. He glanced back down at his diagram and felt the urge to rip it to shreds.


	14. Chapter 14

It was the summer before their fourth year that a major event occurred in Scorpius' life. It was announced that the Quidditch World Cup would be taking place in Argentina in April, when Scorpius was still in school. His parents sent along word with Diao, but firmly told Scorpius that they would not be attending until the final three matches, for which his father had purchased a private box.

"Matches you're excited to see. Top three. Go." The last week of school, Al and Scorpius sat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, blearily picking through their food before their final exams. Al turned to Scorpius with unrestrained curiosity.

"Any match with Bulgaria in it," Scorpius replied. "They're brilliant, aren't they? Not the best chasers and beaters, but their seeker…"

"Is apparently quite nice." Rose joined them, daintily taking a seat across the table. She plunked down a stack of color-coded notecards that she had been studying from the previous evening. "He's friends with my parents."

"Krum is friends with your mum and my dad," Al corrected. "Ron hates him, though I don't know why…" Rose shrugged.

"What about you, then?" Scorpius asked. "Top matches?"

"I'm obligated to say Wales, since my mum played for them. It's a necessary bias, otherwise she'll be furious with me. But I'm interested to see how the U.S. will do this year…Dad says they might pick up the slack quite a bit, compared to how they've been doing."

"And you, Rose? Who do you want to see?"

Rose blushed furiously as she spooned out tomatoes and sausages onto her plate.

"Oh…er…I can't say."

"Can't?"

"Well, Merlin's beard, how am I supposed to know? You both know I don't keep up with professional Quidditch like you do. I suppose I'll just say Wales, since there's a family connection."

Scorpius and Al grinned at the same time.

On July 3, Scorpius and his parents arrived in the Patagonian desert. They had taken a Portkey from his Father's Office at Gringotts, along with a few other employees. They arrived in the very center of the campground, which was blindingly hot. The tents surrounding them had been magically enhanced to keep cool, but many a wizard or witch sat out on their artificial lawn, tanning.

"My God," Scorpius' mother declared, fanning her face with a long-fingered hand. "Let's find our area, shall we? I need to get inside, or I'll faint."

"Can't I go find my friends?" Scorpius asked anxiously, turning around as if he could spot them on immediate landing. Instead, all he saw was a rather raucous group of Americans, who were celebrating their independence day a bit early by running around with a star-spangled flag and drinking from red-white-and-blue tin cans.

"Like who?" His mother asked, as Draco examined a map planted in the middle of the campground. An official looking wizard in navy blue robes approached them with an air of importance, before asking in a very thick accent, if he could help them find their way.

"Rose and Al."

"Of course you can, but you have to come with us first."

"Mum!"

"Scorpius!" She smiled a little as he stuttered, trying to find an argument. "Al and Rose are not leaving this match, I can promise you that. I know their parents well enough. As soon as we set up the tent, I will walk you over to their campground, but I don't want you trying to find it by yourself."

"He's fourteen," Draco pointed out. "I think he can find the campground."

"It's crowded, Draco-"

"Stop coddling him, Celia…"

Scorpius watched as his mother's face changed from her peaches-and-cream complexion to a suddenly terrifying shade of red. Scorpius' father seemed to realize this too, and immediately apologized while taking his wife's arm. Scorpius dragged his feet as his parents lead the way to the tent, his father apologizing profusely the whole way.

Mercifully, half way to their campsite, Scorpius heard the unmistakable scream of Rose Weasley. She came running at him from out of his peripheral eyesight, and jumped at him. She caught him by surprise and mid-turn, Scorpius stumbled as Rose threw her arms around his shoulders, nearly taking both of them to the ground.

"I saw you walking," she babbled, letting go. Scorpius smoothed back his hair, which was beginning to get a little too long and messy for his liking. "I thought if I caught up with you, you could come back to our campsite for a bit." She lowered her voice. "Please come back, my mother is trying to force me to sit with the adults and I just can't bear it. Al's being no help, he keeps arguing with his father about what bets they should place."

"Mum?" Scorpius addressed his parents, who had frozen a few feet away. Draco was staring intently at Rose, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, but looked away when Scorpius caught his gaze. "You remember Rose, don't you?"

"Of course," Scorpius' mother replied, smiling beautifully, all anger gone from her features. "How is your mother, Rose?"

"She's fine, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Can I go with Rose?" Scorpius asked.

"How will you find the way to our campsite?" Celia asked.

"You must be in our section," Rose piped up. "All the British tents are here. Where are you sitting?"

"We have a private box."

"Oh, well then you should be in this row, here. They sort the tent sites according to where you sit."

"I'll find you," Scorpius said hurriedly, before scampering off behind Rose.

"This summer has been miserable," Rose lamented, laying a hand on Scorpius' arm. "All they talk about is Quidditch. All they want to do is play Quidditch. Al, James, and Lily all teamed up to try to force me to play with them. But you know that I'm not a natural player like they are. Hugo went along just fine…"

"I'll only play if you play," Scorpius promised as they ducked into Rose's tent. Inside, the tent was covered in beautiful jewel-colored tapestry, and was kept cool by floating rice fans, which flapped furiously when one moved by them. Rose's family was jumbled in the very large living room. When Al spotted Scorpius, he let out a loud shout and scrambled over the back of the couch.

"Hey, mate," Scorpius said cheerfully, clapping him on the back. "I couldn't tell if you'd be excited to see me at all…All your letters talk about is Viktor Krum."

"Rose?" Someone said suddenly. Scorpius looked up to see Rose's mother, her voluminous hair pulled back into a strangled braid, addressing her eldest child. "Aren't you going to introduce your friend?"

"Oh, right." Rose tugged on Scorpius' arm and pulled him closer to the rest of the group. "Yes, well…okay. Everyone, this is Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius, this is my mother, but you know her. And then, there, that's my father. And you know Hugo. And next to him is…" As Rose continued to name her family members, of which there were many, Scorpius felt a pair of eyes trained on him. One of the people watching him, with mild apprehension and curiosity was Al's father, Harry Potter. However, he didn't seem to be surprised by Scorpius' appearance, and merely took another sip of his ice water when he caught Scorpius looking back at him. The second person who was staring at Scorpius was Rose's father. He was glancing at Scorpius without any curiosity, but instead, what looked like revulsion. His ears were slightly red, and if Scorpius hadn't known any better, he would have guessed that Rose's father hated him. But it was ridiculous, of course, why would he?

"Scorpius," Rose said firmly, breaking his trance. "My mother asked you a question."

Scorpius blushed furiously. "I'm sorry. I just got distracted by the heat."

"It is hot in here," Al's mother agreed.

"Is your mother here, Scorpius?" Rose's mother asked.

"Oh, yes. She and my father. They're in this row of tents, apparently."

"You don't know?" James spoke up, with a laugh.

"I dragged him here before he could get there," Rose replied with some force. Her father suddenly looked sick to his stomach.

"Hey," Al said suddenly, looking around. "Wanna play Quidditch?"

"Er…" Scorpius looked to Rose.

"Do you play, Scorpius?" Al's father asked politely.

"I'm a chaser at school."

"Our best chaser," James said. "Al's our second best."

"I'm not a chaser," Al replied, frowning. He had joined the team last year as a Keeper, though admittedly, it was not his favorite position.

"Oh, my mistake," James said airily. "I just assumed you were because of how often you let the Quaffle get through the hoops."

"Hey," Al's father said sharply, with a warning tone. "Enough, James."

"Come on," James said, quickly standing up. "I was kidding. Let's go play."

"I'll only play if Rose is on my team," Scorpius said loyally. Rose smiled brightly.

"Right then," James said. "We can't play two on two. How about Al, Teddy and I…"

"Not fair," Rose said as they headed out of the tent. "Teddy's an adult, you can't play with him."

"You can have Victoire," James replied with a smirk.

"That's mean," Rose said in a hushed voice. "You know she's terrible at Quidditch."

"What team will I play on?" Lily Potter strode up next to Scorpius and planted her hands on her hips, laughingly. "I'm gone for ten minutes and you replace me with Scorpius? Really nice, James."

"I wasn't replacing you," Scorpius said.

"Teasing." Lily smiled, her nose scrunching up adorably, and tilted her head to get a better look at Scorpius. She cupped a hand around her eyes to see him more clearly. She looked older than she had when he saw her last, on the train back to London. She had grown a couple inches over the past two years, but her face had gotten more mature. Her brown eyes sparkled mischievously. "How are you?"

"Great. Yeah. How're you?"

"I'm Team Captain," Rose suddenly announced, interrupting them. "Scorpius and Al can be on my time. It works out that way, James. You get whoever you want, in addition to Lily, and because I'm useless, it will even out nicely."

"You're not useless," Scorpius and Al said in unison.

"Use your knowledge of angles and stuff to shoot off a bludger," Al put in.

"I'm sure you'll be just fine," Scorpius assured her.

"I'm not better than other girls," Rose replied.

"But we don't want any other girl on our team," Scorpius said simply. "Just you, Rose."

"Well, I-"

"Scorpius!" Scorpius looked up from the pile of brooms kept outside the Weasley's tent to see his father, standing awkwardly outside the site. "You need to come with me now."

"But Dad," Scorpius protested, gesturing to the brooms. "Quidditch."

"It's your mother, she's worried that-"

But Scorpius' father was interrupted by the sound of the tent flap opening. Al's father and Rose's father stepped outside, and then froze. Scorpius saw his own father straighten up uncomfortably, and then nod. Scorpius had never seen his father so out of place. Rose looked from her father, to Draco, and then back to her father. Al noticed nothing, and picked through the pile of brooms with precision.

"I'm here to collect my son," Scorpius' father said, a tinge of fear in his voice.

"He can stay, if you don't mind," Al's father said, just as stiffly. "They were going to play Quidditch."

"Rose!" Her father boomed suddenly, still pink in the ears. "Your brother needs you."

"What?" Rose asked, her mouth falling open. "Why?"

"He's feeling left out, you need to go talk to your mother about it." Rose mumbled something under her breath and shot a look at her father, but he didn't see her. He was glaring at Scorpius' father with unparalleled hatred. So perhaps he had reason to hate Scorpius after all.

"I'll see you guys later," Scorpius muttered, shuffling off to his father. Harry nodded to Scorpius as he left, but Ron glared at him, too. When Scorpius reached his father, Draco put a protective arm around his shoulders, pulling his son away from the Weasley tent.

"Mr. Weasley doesn't like you," Scorpius noted as they walked away. "Why's that?"

"A long story," Draco sighed.

"He doesn't like me. I can tell."

"It's not your fault. It's rooted in tradition, Scorpius. All of our history with the Weasley family, and our future, I suppose, is all rooted in history."


	15. Chapter 15

The next day was the match between the USA and Brazil. Scorpius awoke to the sound of loud, drunken cheers coming from outside the tent, and then the sounds of retching mixed with: "USA! USA! USA!"

"Damn yanks," his father muttered, stalking out of the tent, wearing nothing but his pajama bottoms. "Keep it down, you lot! My family's trying to sleep."

"Stop telling us what to do!" A particularly drunken wizard yelled back. "We're not the colonies anymore."

Draco marched back inside the tent, muttering a stream of curse words under his breath. He went straight for his bedroom, but stopped only when Scorpius stepped out of his own bedroom, rubbing his eyes.

"Dad? Whasshappening?"

"It's American Independence day, which clearly means that the whole damn country has lost their grip on sanity. I'm going to curse the lot of them, they're only across the way." 

"No you're not," Scorpius' mother sung cheerily as she ducked back in the tent, holding a steaming pot of coffee. "It's past sunrise, they are well within their right to celebrate. And you have no room to talk, Draco Malfoy, I have never seen a louder drunk…"

"Alright," Draco said hastily, shooting a quick look at Scorpius, who smiled eagerly. "That's enough."

"Coffee?" Celia said with an extra sugary voice, and Scorpius laughed aloud as Draco stalked back into his bedroom. Scorpius took a seat at their breakfast table, which was surprisingly modest for the size of the tent. The Malfoy's tent was equipped with two large bedrooms, complete with king beds and down quilts, an upstairs viewing room where one could peel back the ceiling and watch the stars, a living room with an magically enhanced speaker system for the radio, and a kitchen complete with a tile floor. "I'm afraid I broke our little stovetop," Celia said, putting out an empty bowl for Scorpius. She waved her wand, and a cluster of cereal boxes halted neatly in front of him. "Do you want coffee?"

"Alright, then." Scorpius paused as he watched his mother cut up an apple, which she put aside on a plate for his father. "Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know why Dad hates the Weasleys?"

Celia froze as she reached for the bottle of milk on the countertop. She turned to face Scorpius with a pained expression on her face.

"Why would you ask that? Did your father say something?"

"No, he didn't. It's just…when Dad came to get me from the Weasley's tent, he ran into Rose's father and Al's father. Harry and Ron, you know?"

"Yes, I know."

"It was…cold. Mr. Weasley glared at Dad, and Dad seemed to glare back. Like they hate each other. They went to school together, right? Mr. Weasley must have been in Gryffindor."

Celia took the seat opposite Scorpius and took a long sip of coffee before replying.

"Your father does not hate the Weasleys. It is a long and complicated history, Scorpius."

"He also said that."

"When your father was in school, he didn't get along well with the Gryffindors. That means he fought a lot with them, primarily Harry and Ron. Your father felt as if Harry had slighted him, and he felt like Ron was…not a proper substitute for his offer of friendship. It is not my place to tell you the entire history, Scorpius. If your father shares all those stories with you, it should be of his own choice. However, I will tell you that your father does not hate either of those men. Your father helped them, and they returned the favor. You remember what happened to your father during the Battle of Hogwarts, yes?"

Scorpius had heard the story of his father's survival only once, during a conversation after Christmas dinner when he was eight.

"Sort of."

"Your father had to retrieve a wand from Harry Potter. But when he actually confronted him, your father's life was put in danger. A Slytherin student cast a spell that went horribly wrong. Fiendfyre. Nasty stuff, can't be put out without dark magic. Harry and Ron saved your father and one of his Slytherin friends. Your father would have died in that fire if it hadn't been for them."

"Oh. So…they just don't get along?"

"I would call it begrudging respect," Celia corrected, taking another sip of her coffee. "I, on the other hand, get along splendidly with the Potters. And Hermione. We never had any problems."

"Okay."

"Was it making you uncomfortable?" Celia asked cautiously. "Because of Rose?"

"It was just something I noticed," Scorpius muttered. "I don't want to feel weird around my best friend's family. Or rather, I just wouldn't want to feel as if they don't like me."

"I'm sure they don't have a problem with you, sweetheart. Rose doesn't have a problem with you. And as difficult as it may be for Ron Weasley to forgive your father for what transpired between them, he is a family man. He will not make his daughter uncomfortable. Or, at least he won't if Hermione has anything to say about it."

Celia stood up and moved towards the collapsible sink. "Just remember, it is most important what your friends think of you, not their parents. Not much can be done to change the heart."

"Right." Scorpius stood up and stretched. "I'm going over to see Rose and Al before the match."

"How about this," Celia countered, her back to him as she washed out the mug. "Stay with them if their families are alright with it, and if you feel comfortable. Or come to our box and bring Rose."

"And Al."

"Yes, of course."

When Scorpius arrived at the Weasley's tent, it was in full-blown commotion. The Potters and a second set of Weasleys (Victoire and Louis) had arrived just before he had, and the entire family was sitting down to breakfast. Hermione and Ginny and an extremely beautiful woman with a sheet of silvery hair (clearly part veela), were chatting in the kitchen as they waved their wands over slices of toast and pans with beans and sausage and tomatoes.

"Scorpius!" Al, Rose, Lily, Hugo, and James were sitting in the sitting room area, and beckoned him over quickly.

"Where did you go yesterday?" Al asked. "We went looking for you, but we weren't sure which tent was yours."

"My mum was all worked up about losing me in the campsite," Scorpius said, and James let out an audible snicker.

"Mummy's boy."

"James, Mum still ties your shoes for you," Lily pointed out.

"You're coming with us to the match, then?" Rose asked. "Our family's box is massive. Everyone pitched in, it's bigger than this tent…"

"Your family won't mind?" Scorpius asked.

"No," Rose said, shaking her head. "Why would they?"

"Oh, Scorpius," someone said from behind them. Hermione was standing behind the couch, holding a smoking pan. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you come in."

"Good morning Mrs. Weasley."

"Would you like some breakfast?" She wiped away the hair that fell into her eyes. It was growing frizzier with the heat.

"If it's not any trouble," Scorpius said. "My mum broke our stove."

"Well," Hermione said with a small smile. "That sounds like her. We have plenty of room and more than enough food. You lot, clear the table. We're going to eat in a couple of minutes."

At the table, Scorpius was wedged in between Al and Rose. Across from him sat Lily. She smiled at him before snatching up the top piece of toast of the platter set in front of them. Every time she kicked her legs out under the table, she caught him in the shins. But Scorpius didn't mind. It was only a few moments into the meal when Ron seemed to notice that Scorpius was sitting next to his daughter.

"You're back, Mr. Malfoy," he said quite suddenly, breaking up most of the breakfast chatter. Scorpius saw Victoire lean over and whisper into her mother's ear.

"Ron," Hermione scolded.

"What?" He replied, sounding genuinely surprised. "I was just wondering if he was going to join us at the match today."

"Er…" Scorpius paused.

"Of course he is," Rose put in.

"That's settled then," Ron said evenly, looking down at his plate. "See, 'Mione? I was only asking a question…"

"I heard something interesting at work this week." A man at the end of the table, with long red hair and a remarkably scarred face spoke up. He had to have been a Weasley. Scorpius was beginning to recognize the signature red color of their hair. "Have you heard that McGonagall is bringing the Yule Ball back to Hogwarts?"

"They're holding the Triwizard Tournament?" Ginny asked in horror.

"No. I think that tradition has been eradicated. No, I heard McGonagall is under pressure to hold some sort of Holiday Festival this year, along with other schools. It's experimental—apparently it's a test to see how motivated students are when faced with the opportunity of a dance."

"Fat Chance," Al said aloud. "Why would I want to dance?"

"The Bent-Winged Snitches are supposed to play," the man replied. "The school had to take a loan out to finance their stay."

"No way," Lily and James said at the same time.

"What year do you have to be to attend?" Ron asked. He looked cautiously at Rose. "You had to be a fourth year back when we were in school."

"Dunno. Knowing McGonagall, rule still stands, or she's yanked the limit up a few years."

"Oh god," Rose whispered to Scorpius. "D'you know what this means?"

"Travis is going to ask you to dance?"

"No, stupid. I'm going to have to learn to dance in the first place."

"Well I'll have to learn too."

"You won't have any trouble," Rose said airily, waving a hand. "You have the shape for it. Like a seeker."

"I'm a chaser, Rose."

"You have the shape for it," she insisted. "You have elegant hands."

"Thanks, I suppose." It was only after he finished his breakfast that Scorpius wondered when Rose had taken notice of his shape and elegant hands—and when she had determined that it would make him an eligible dancer. Even so, he couldn't help but notice on the walk over to the Quidditch Pitch, that she was light on her feet. She would probably make a good dancer, too.


	16. Chapter 16

The weeks leading up to the Yule Ball were fraught with tension. Scorpius was put on edge every time he stepped out of his dormitory. Girls were seemingly everywhere, pouting and preening and giggling together. Two of the Gryffindor girls in his year tailed him and Albus relentlessly—Hazel Thomas and Jaclyn Finnegan.

"Should I ask Jaclyn?" Al asked one morning as they got ready for class. He straightened his robes nervously and tried to push his hair out of his eyes. He hadn't cut his hair in a couple months, and it was growing evermore messy.

"She's nice," Scorpius said lamely. Jaclyn was kind and pretty, with doll-like features and long blonde hair, but she also talked non-stop. "She'll say yes."

"You're asking Jaclyn?" Avery asked from across the room, eavesdropping as he collected his books for the day. "How are you going to ask her?"

"What do you mean, how?"

"What are you going to do to ask her?"

"Maybe tell her a joke?"

"Who are you asking, Avery?" Scorpius asked.

"Hazel," he said confidently. "I have it all planned. During charms, I'm going to get one of the canaries to sing to her."

"Oh," Al said, turning to frown at Scorpius. "Who're you thinking of asking, Scorpius?"

"I haven't thought about it," Scorpius lied. He had, of course, been thinking of asking Lily. Every time she passed him in the common room, or joined practice on the Quidditch Pitch, or stopped to chat in the hallway, he thought of how he could ask her. Of course, she was Al's sister. It would never happen, he was sure of it.

"You could ask Clementine," Avery said helpfully. "No one's asked her yet."

"Sorry," Nash said from across the room, still in bed. His arm was slung dramatically over his eyes. "I did last night."

"Never mind, then."

"Isn't she a bit quiet for you?" Avery asked, somewhat teasingly.

"It's the quiet ones you've got to watch out for," Nash said knowingly, and then sat up. He winked roguishly at Scorpius. "Isn't that right?"

Yes, he was right. Scorpius realized this as he sat in potions later that day. Rose sat next to him, carefully measuring out slabs of Flubberworm Mucus to slide into her cauldron. She was whispering incrementally to him about the Yule Ball. She hadn't been asked yet, but she hoped she would be soon. Scorpius grinned as she suddenly cursed and broke off her stream of thought, frantically stirring her potion to make sure it retained its sage color.

He never had to watch out for Rose. He could see her coming from miles away, lead by her independence and her flaming red hair. She told him what was what—what was right, what was wrong, what she was feeling. She had all the subtly of a right hook. It was Lily, on the other hand, who Nash was right about. It wasn't to say that she was necessarily quiet—he had heard her screaming her lungs out during Quidditch Matches, so shrill she could shake the pitch. But rather, she was the one he had to watch out for. Look for hints, clues. Guess her feelings, rather than hear them.

"Do you know who you're going to ask?" Rose prodded him, interrupting his thoughts.

"I can't escape that question," Scorpius sighed. He ground up a sprig of lavender between his fingers and sprinkled it into his cauldron.

"So you don't know."

"No." Scorpius wrinkled his nose. "Do people go alone to dances? What if you, Al, and I were just to go as a group?"

"I don't think it works that way."

"Why not?"

Rose pointed towards the front of the classroom. Al was sitting at a bench with Jaclyn Finnegan today. He had just spilled a bottle of Essence of Peppermint all down her front, and was blushing and apologizing profusely. But as Scorpius watched, she lowered her lashes and giggled, before waving her wand and drying her robes. She leaned her chin onto the palm of her hand, inching her elbow across the table, closer to Al. Shyly, he turned towards his potion and away from her, but Scorpius could tell that he was pleased by the attention.

"Because he's going to ask Jaclyn."

"Well then we can all go. Al will have a date, is all." Rose was quiet. Scorpius winced.

"Not that I think you can't get a date," he said immediately, trying to remedy himself. "You can. You can get two dates if you want. I'll fifth wheel."

"You'll get a damn date," Rose murmured, rolling her eyes. "I shouldn't have asked." She was silent for another beat before asking: "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me this Saturday? I need to buy dress robes. I just—I want an objective opinion."

Scorpius felt rather guilty in that moment. And angry. Who hadn't asked her yet? Who dared ignore her?

"Only if you give me your objective opinion," he replied. "I need to buy robes too."

Al caused a rather large commotion in that moment by asking Jaclyn to the Yule Ball. In the middle of the class. She squealed aloud, and then threw her arms around him. Al nearly tottered off his stool. The rest of the class giggled, and Rose rolled her eyes.

"Settle down!" Professor Derrick shouted from the front of the class.

On Saturday, Scorpius and Rose headed into Hogsmeade alone. Al's parents had already purchased him dress robes in the beginning of the year, and he said (rather cheerily), that he was heading into the village later with Jaclyn, to get tea at a place called Madame Puddifoots. Rose snickered heartily when she heard this, but refused to say why.

When Scorpius and Rose reached Hogsmeade, they passed the stationary stop (earning a little whine out of Rose), and turned up High Street before stopping in Gladrags Wizardwear. Scorpius walked around the front of the shop, noting all the things he wouldn't wear in a lifetime (mismatched socks of wildly different colors and patterns), before a hawk-like woman swooped down on him and Rose.

"Looking for Yule Ball Robes?" She queried. "We have a fantastic selection of Dress Robes in the back of the shop."

"Oh, yes," Rose said.

"Will you be looking for matching colors?" The woman asked, beckoning them along though racks of pointed hats, some of which were elaborately studded with jewels. "Some dates choose to match the color of their robes…"

"We're not going together," Rose said, before Scorpius could. The woman didn't reply, as if she could feel the awkward point of her question butting into the room. The woman briskly whisked a couple of robes off of a rack and thrust them into Rose's arms.

"You're a red-head, dear, your color palette is quite narrow. Try these and then tell me what you think."

Scorpius flipped through a rack of robes half-heartedly as he waited for Rose to finish trying on the stack of robes the woman had given her. He held up a pair of plain black robes, neatly tailored and complete with a crisp white shirt underneath.

"Scorpius?" Rose asked uncertainly from the dressing room. "You've got to promise me you won't make fun if I ask for your opinion."

"I promise not to make fun," Scorpius replied. "Even though I might not be able to help myself, in the moment-" But when Rose stepped out of the dressing room, he found that he was incapable of finding his voice.

She was breath taking. She had put on a set of navy blue robes that cascaded down her body in swishy, soft fabric. It caught at her narrow waist and her hips, and Scorpius noticed, for the first time, that Rose had curves. The fabric was delicately threaded with bits of silver, and the dress shimmered the smallest bit when she moved. It looked like she had been catching stars.

"Er…" Scorpius said.

"You don't like it?" Rose asked, turning to look in a mirror. She pulled her hair out of her face, piling it on top of her head. Scorpius felt like he couldn't breathe when he looked at her. Rose was…she was so _pretty. _Beautiful. How had he not noticed, before? Perhaps he had noticed her beauty, but had never fully appreciated it until now. He felt his stomach twist. "I liked the color."

"Get them," Scorpius choked. "Get the robes."

"But I've only tried these on. I haven't even seen the other ones…" Scorpius shook his head. "Are you feeling alright?"

He wasn't. He suddenly felt very, very attracted to Rose. It took all he had not to let his gaze wander over the patch of exposed skin at the base of her neck and her chest. He couldn't even imagine touching her—he thought he might explode. Rose stepped forwards, her brows contorted in concern.

"I need fresh air," Scorpius said suddenly, nearly tripping over a rack of child's dress robes. "I'll be right back." He turned and walked quickly out of the shop. He marched out onto the street and breathed in deeply, stomping his feet into the light powder of snow that dusted the cobblestones. The air was cold enough now that it made his head ring. He leaned back against the window of the shop, trying to shake the image of Rose from his head. A few students clamored into the shop past him, giggling and whispering amongst themselves. Scorpius put his hands around his mouth and breathed into them, trying to warm himself up.

How could he have been so attracted to her? It was a ridiculous question, of course. He knew exactly how he could have been attracted to her. If anyone had seen her then, man or woman, they would have been attracted to her too. But this was Rose, his best friend, the girl who too often teased him and rolled her eyes at him. The girl who had told him all the facts she had memorized about the History of Hogwarts, and had shared with him all the muggle music she had collected over the summer. She was the girl who had helped him with his homework and cheered him on at Quidditch Matches. And she was also the girl he did not need to look out for—the girl who always told him her feelings.

"Scorpius?" Rose emerged from the shop, clutching a bag and wearing her overcoat. Her cheeks were slightly flushed as she found him. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Scorpius replied, avoiding her eyes. "My stomach. It's better now. Fresh air." He waved his hand airily. Rose narrowed her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing! I said my stomach was fine."

"Oh please," she said knowingly. "It was all too sudden. Come on, are you still worried about asking someone to the ball? Is that it? I know there are girls who would say yes. Many girls would say yes." Scorpius was staring at her mouth as she spoke. Her lips were strikingly plump and red. It had never occurred to him, before this outing, that he had been an idiot. It was all there before him. He could ask Rose to the ball. Yes, of course. It was simple. They would go as friends, and then maybe he would forget all about his sudden attraction to her.

"Yeah, that's it," Scorpius said with a dry mouth. "Listen, Rose…"

"Oh hold on," she interrupted, holding onto his arm. "You'll never believe what happened to me in there."

"What?"

"Travis asked me to the ball."

"What?" Scorpius repeated, his stomach balling up.

"Yeah. He marched right over to me when I was paying and asked me. I think he had been psyching himself up, he looked a bit clammy."

"I didn't even see him go in," Scorpius said, as if that might make the whole scenario disappear.

"Well, I said yes," Rose continued, casting her eyes downwards. Her lashes were so long they cast shadows on her cheeks. "I felt rather awful after that day he tried to kiss me in The Three Broomsticks. I'm sure he thought I hated him. I don't hate him, of course. I don't like him, either, not in that way. But I told him I'd go with him, to make sure he knows I'm not revolted by him."

"Oh," Scorpius said faintly. "That makes sense."

"Anyway," Rose ended. "What were you going to say?"

Scorpius felt his focus sharpen. He looked past the window of Gladrags and saw Travis talking to the hawk-like sales woman. He was smiling like an idiot. Scorpius had never wanted to punch him more than he did in that moment. He looked back down at Rose, with her long lashes and red lips, and felt like she had delivered a punch to his gut. Slowly, he uttered the question:

"How should I ask Lily Potter to the Ball?"


	17. Chapter 17

"You're going to ask Lily?" Rose replied, her mouth falling open a bit. Her blue eyes widened considerably, and then she turned away, biting down on her lip. The blood drained from her face, and her tan looked considerably less brown than before. "When?"

"Whenever." Scorpius puffed out his chest and refused to look at her. "Perhaps you could help me set something up? Avery told me girls like that, to be asked inventively."

Rose shook her head, but said: "I'll help."

"Girls don't like to be asked inventively?"

"What?"

"You shook your head."

"Not to that."

"To what?"

"I don't know." Rose clutched the bag against her chest. "Can we go back to school please? I think I'm catching that stomach bug."

"Fine," Scorpius said sullenly. They walked back to the castle in silence, Scorpius trailing ever-so-slightly in her wake. Rose did not look back at him, but if she had, he might have seen the peculiar expression across her features; he would have seen the anger in her brow and the hurt in her eyes. When they reached the Gryffindor Common Room, Rose went straight up the stairs and closed the door to her dormitory.

Scorpius collapsed into the couch and put his head in his hands. Snow began to swirl down past the window in crazy gusts of wind. He had a pounding headache—Rose's figure in the dress burned before his eyes like an eclipse. Had she seemed disappointed when he told her he would ask Lily? Had she seemed angry? She hadn't seemed pleased with it. But it was Rose. Again, knowing Rose as well as he did, Scorpius assumed that if something was wrong, she would have told him, perhaps yelled a bit. She was always stern when she was cross. This, somehow, was worse.

"Scorpius?" Someone said. He looked up and saw Lily Potter, standing cautiously at the easy chair next to the fireplace. She had just been outside too; her hair was windswept and dotted with flakes of snow. In one hand she held a broom.

"Hi."

"Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Scorpius replied, gesturing towards the armchair. "Do you want to sit?"

"Sure." Lily collapsed into the chair, slinging the broom over her legs.

"Practicing?" Scorpius asked.

"I was," Lily laughed. "Until it started snowing." She looked down at her hands. "I'm still upset that I didn't make the team this year…but once Jade is gone, another chaser position should open up."

"You'll make it. James will be captain at that point."

"Oh, so I can only make the team if James is captain?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Scorpius said immediately, scrambling. "No, not at all. I just meant that it could help, you know. Because the team already loves you."

"Relax, Scorpius," Lily said with another giggle. "I was just teasing. I know I'll make it, regardless of if he's captain or not."

"Well…okay. Good."

"You're so easy to rile up," Lily noted.

"I don't think so."

"Oh, Rose and I agree." The sound of Rose's name sent a shock through his spine. "But it's in a good way. You're hot-headed, but also…I don't know. Not? You're also not-hot-headed. It's endearing." Scorpius felt himself blushing in spite of himself. Lily tossed the broomstick back and forth in her hands, and then hummed the tune of a Bent-Wing Snitches song.

"Lily?" Scorpius asked.

"Mhmm?"

He had expected, at this point, to feel like falling over. He had expected to be so nervous that his stomach would feel like a bucket of snakes, that he'd feel his heart pumping in his throat, and that he would attempt to smile but would be so nervous that it would instead look like a sneer. But he didn't feel any of that. So instead, when he spoke, he sounded almost bored.

"D'you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?"

Lily paused, let the broom hover a few inches above the ground. She turned to look at him, her eyes curious.

"Yes." She sat up in the chair and smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Yes, of course."

"Great," Scorpius said, smiling too. After all, it was Lily. He had just asked Lily Potter to the Yule Ball. And here she was, smiling at him and saying yes, and goddammit, all he could think about was Rose Weasley. All he could think about was the robes she would be wearing and how they brought out her eyes, and her tangle of long red hair and her red lips.

As he lay in bed that night, ready to go to sleep early, Albus stumbled into the room, red in the face. Scorpius sat up, frowning, and found Albus staring wildly at him. Beyond the doorway stood Jaclyn, looking a bit frightened and embarrassed.

"You asked my sister?" He bellowed.

"Er…"

"Al?" Jaclyn said timidly. "I'm going to go."

"Oh, okay," he replied mildly, turning to smile at her. Jaclyn smiled too. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Anytime."

Al continued to smile as he shut the door, and then rounded on Scorpius, who was grinning cheekily.

"Don't think that because I'm in a good mood that you can get away with asking my sister to the Yule Ball."

"I'm not apologizing," Scorpius said.

"Well…well…okay," Albus replied, clearly thrown off. He lowered his voice. "But she's my sister."

"It's not like that, you know."

"So why'd you ask her?" Al took a seat on his own bed. "If you don't like her like that, why'd you get her hopes up?"

"I don't think her hopes are up. I don't think so at all. I hope not." Scorpius put his head in his hands again. "I don't know what to do."

"Should I tell her you don't want to go?"

"That's not it." Scorpius smoothed back his hair. "Without you punching me or hexing me or whatever, can I tell you something?"

"Not the best start, but okay."

"I thought I liked Lily. I used to. But that's not why I asked her to the Yule Ball. I asked her as a friend. On impulse. But it's…it's Rose. I think I like Rose."

"You thought it would be a good idea to tell me that you liked my sister, and now you like my cousin? Who, might I remind you, is our best friend?"

"I have a headache," Scorpius grumbled.

"Without providing details, what changed?"

"What?"

"I mean…" Al sighed and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "I can't believe I have to talk about this. But what made you think you like Rose? And hey, man, I feel like I need to at least kick you for not liking my sister."

"Wait until Rose finds out I asked her to the ball. She'll probably kill me for you."

"She loves Lily too much."

"I don't know what happened. It was really sudden. We were just in Hogsmeade, looking at robes, and then she put on some Dress Robes that made her look…She didn't look like Rose, but she did. She looked beautiful. And I couldn't bear it, couldn't bear the thought of thinking about her that way. It was confusing and embarrassing. I had to go outside to calm down, and by the time she joined me, wouldn't you believe it, but Travis had asked her to the Yule Ball."

"Well surely she didn't-"

"She said yes."

"Well that's shocking." Albus frowned. "Scorpius, don't you think that maybe Rose feels the same way?"

"No." Scorpius shook her head. "No, I don't."

"Really?" Al raised his eyebrows. "Because I've known Rose for my entire life, and I think she does. Break it down, and it's easy to see. She actively sought you out to be our friend when we got here. She could have ignored you. She had enough family to have other friends. But she didn't. Rose, whose hardly broken a rule in her life, was the one who insisted we go out and find you that night our first year, when you wandered off into the castle. She's stuck by you thick and thin, defended you (need I remind you what she did to Zabini?), and smiles almost every time she sees you. She'd do anything for you."

"Those are all things a friend would do."

"I didn't hex Zabini," Albus reminded him. "I didn't stay up every night to play Wizard's Chess and talk in the common room. I didn't make study guides for you whenever we've had a transfiguration exam."

"I don't-"

"Talk to her."

"You're suggesting I go up to Rose, when she's acting strange (possibly angry), and try to tell her I'm into her out of the blue?"

"You didn't say she's mad at you." Albus exhaled. "Yeah, keep your distance. We'll figure it out together."

"Thanks, Al."

"Don't mention it."

The night of December 27 was the Yule Ball. It was one week following Scorpius' trip to Hogsmeade with Rose. She had not spoken to him since that day. She sat with other girls in class, ate with Clementine at breakfast, lunch and dinner. She spoke to Al when he spoke to her, but looked straight through Scorpius in the hallway. If he tried to approach her on his own, she would dart away quickly—she was much faster than he gave her credit for. Lily, on the other hand, was suddenly around more than usual. The thought would have thrilled him, eight days earlier, but now, even her bright and cheery presence couldn't cheer Scorpius up.

The night of the Yule Ball, Scorpius and Al got ready in their dormitory, along with Travis, Avery and Nash. Nash was constantly preening in front of the mirror, causing the others to smirk in back of him. But what Scorpius was bothered by, more than his crooked cufflinks, was Travis, who was babbling excitedly to the rest of the room.

"I think I'm going to ask Rose to go out with me," Travis said, adjusting his sleeves. Scorpius let his eyes roll into the back of his head before uttering a soft groan.

"D'you think she'll vomit again?" Avery snickered. "Er…sorry Al. And Scorpius, I guess."

"Why are you apologizing?" Scorpius snapped, and everyone stared. "It's not like it matters to me. Not at all. I don't care." He turned back to fiddling with his cufflinks. Albus tried to point out that Scorpius was putting them on backwards, earning a rather fearsome glare that Scorpius regretted a moment later.

Lily was waiting for him at the end of the stairs, looking quite pretty in golden robes with a floaty skirt and thin straps. She wore a white flower in her hair, which looked to be tropical and smelled sweetly. She smiled at Scorpius when he walked down to meet her, and he realized that she had curled her hair for the occasion, and it bounced around her shoulders when she leaned in to hug him.

"You look great," Scorpius greeted her.

"You don't look bad yourself," Lily said. "I do like your robes. Can't go wrong with classic black, eh?"

"I wasn't feeling too creative," Scorpius replied, trying to smile. Albus and Jaclyn, who looked quite pretty in light pink robes, joined them at the bottom of the stairs. Albus had gone to the trouble to buy Jaclyn a small broach made of color-changing ribbon, and she clutched at his arm with a satisfied smile. Al was wearing a set of emerald robes that clashed with his date's dress.

"Shall we go then?" Jaclyn gushed. "I hear they've decorated the Great Hall quite splendidly, full of icicles and crystal. My father told me that during his year, the Yule Ball was-"

But she was interrupted by the sound of laughter emitting from the top of the stairs. Scorpius cranked his neck turning to look up towards her—he knew Rose's laugh as well as he knew his own. She was even more stunning than before. Her red hair was twirled up into an elaborate up-do, and small, deliberate curls escaped loosely. She wore the blue robes she had purchased that day in Hogsmeade, and paired them with silver jewelry, a simple necklace and diamond earrings. Scorpius watched, his heart breaking and bleeding, as Travis approached her with a flower that folded open in her palm. Rose put it behind her ear and touched his arm in appreciation.

"Let's go," Scorpius said, more harshly than he had intended. He wheeled about and headed for the common room door, Lily bobbing along at his side.

The Great Hall, indeed, was splendidly decorated. Aside from the ceiling, the room could have been crafted solely from ice. Students were dressed to the nines, a particularly smug looking Scarlett Arickson sidled by, wearing a fur caplet. There were tables upon tables of food, sporting platters of cakes and pies. There were different bowls of party punch, each color of which had the ability to enhance the mood of the drinker. At the end of the Great Hall, where the professors usually sat, a large stage had been erected. The Bent-Winged Snitches were playing loudly, their guitars and drums nearly drowning out the chatter of the students.

"Do you want punch?" Scorpius heard Al ask Jaclyn.

"How about you?" Scorpius asked Lily. "Do you want punch?"

"No," she said briskly, grabbing his hand. She pulled him towards the stage. "Let's dance."

"Oh, I don't know…"

"You invited me to a dance, we're going to dance," Lily crowed. Scorpius felt eyes on the back of his neck and turned around just before heading into the crowd. Rose was standing in the doorway of the Great Hall, staring at him. Beside her, Travis was gaping around the room, nudging her elbow and pointing things out to her. Scorpius felt the rest of the room fall away around him, and all he could see was Rose. She offered him a greeting by way of blinking at him. And then he was being pulled away, his hand limp in Lily Potter's, as she pulled him away to dance.


End file.
